30 Days of YES
Day 12
When you carry out acts of kindness you get a wonderful feeling inside. It is as though something inside your body responds and says, yes, this is how I ought to feel. –Harold Kushner
Welcome to Day 12!
Day 12: RAK On!: Come on – could I pass up a quote about kindness that has “yes” in it? Nope. Yes – today is Random Acts of Kindness day (RAK). As Dane Cook would say, “Have a blasty blast” with this one! I can’t wait to hear what you all come up with. Buy a stranger a cup of coffee, buy a lunch, pay for a toll, send someone a surprise card or note. Be creative! I was blown away before Christmas after hearing stories of strangers going into stores like K-Mart and paying off layaway debts for complete strangers. One person paid over $1,500 in one store to make sure people had everything they needed for Christmas. The other day I was in the drive-thru at Chick-Fil-A buying gift cards which caused me to hold the line up some. So, I decided to pay for the lunch for the car behind me. How fun and easy is that?
Share it! Just like the haikus – you need to share your stories! This is going to be fun. Post them in the blog, Facebook, or send them to me to post.
Keep Chewing: How did your mindful eating go? I wanted to share quick movie clip from “Way of the Peaceful Warrior” that involves mindful eating, but I couldn’t find it on the web. Instead, I found my favorite scene that gets to mindfulness in general – and what it means to be present in each moment. “There is never nothing going on.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J19Rqawjp84&feature=related
The goo! I am so inspired by what I am hearing from you all in regards to the fear exercises. It sounds like they brought a lot of goo up to the surface. If you don’t know what I mean by “goo,” I gave a talk a few months ago at the high school where I work, and it’s all about celebrating the goo that comes up in tough times. If you haven’t seen it – here is a link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wg-nO6zUo9I
Phone Home: I am still thinking about which night next week to offer the conference call for anyone who wants to touch base. I will keep you all posted!!!
Tagline: As you know by now – my plan is develop 30 Days of YES into its own entity. I am thinking through a web site and other ideas right now. I have been playing around with fun taglines, and this one struck me last night. I thought I would share it with you…
30 Days of YES…For people who don’t NO!
Have a great day!
Travis Thomas
travislthomas@mac.com
“Laughing Yes”
Blog page: http://blog.directlifecoach.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/30-Days-of-YES
Youtube page: http://www.youtube.com/user/30DaysofYES?feature=watch
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14 comments:
Before 30Days O YES;) I had written a few desires about the upcoming year - one of which was - BE GENEROUS!!!! in both thought and action.
To See the generosity of the Infinite all around me, welcome it, receive it gracefully etc
So ooo this morn a friend who owns a groovy French Cafe in our neighborhood texts me to "come over, the music is great." Didn't know about the event, was feeling a bit slow... and then took a BAT to the resistance trying to drive me and rallied and stood in the sunshine outside, breathed in and as I entered the Cafe... saw the sign on the door "Gospel music today 11-1" I LOVE GOSPEL! and thus promptly THANKED the INFINITE and walked in.
A neighbor was there, we hugged she wanted me to meet a friend she was with and the owner and I hugged and I thanked her for letting me know. I texted 3 friends that might be able to come and enjoy on the spur.
Had my RAK assignment at the forefront of thought, expecting it to unfurl naturally. Enjoyed great connections with my friends friend who was new to town in the last 2 years etc and then the owner and I were applauding the Signers and I said with a $20. in my hand, where is the tip jar... she had someone go get it, we talked with the group, who was feeling shy and had not told many people in their sphere about the event as they wanted to get the kinks out...we told them they were great and must come often;) the owner is thinking maybe monthly;) they said YES to this being the first of many!!! always yummy to be shoulder to shoulder with our brethren cheering each other on!
Bought some extra croissants to give away at my next stop - (dropping my son off for bball practice.)
Left them on a friends desk for her and spouse who both work hard to serve youth!
Mostly, ... so delighted to know that a team of us are thinking and doing RAK and stretching together with these assignments in all directions of our lives;) I knew this was going to aid me in the list of desires I had for the year and it has been such a natural launch pad with fun accountbility!
THANKS TRAV AND HOLLISTER!!!
Look forward to conf call info and LOVE the tagline!!!
T-shirts.... too!
I think this assignment should be every day all day in every aspect of your life! hopefully a thread of who we all are....
My little moment was a note expressing how amazing I think a friend is and slipped it into a pocket of a jacket I gave them so they would find it later tonight.
Yes - Yes - Yes - Keep em coming!!!
I had two separate instances where strangers asked me for money. On another day, I would have hesitated, but today, I did not hesitate and handed over all I had to each person. Not a lot of money, but the pureness of thought that went along with it, felt great. I was looking for ways to help and help looked for me!
Had the blessing of a day with 2 of my wee babes (actually growin' up too fast - 10 and 12). We playes hide and seek, Apples to Apples, and went to start baking chocolate chip cookies. But one of my last two eggs was broken and no good to use. I called to the dining room (I live on a college campus) and despite it being winter break they answered! It turned out they were preparing dinner for the new students who had arrived for orientation today! They said there might be something they could do to help. So we trekked on over and they sold us 2 eggs for $0.18 (when was the last time you bought eggs that cheap)! When we got back as we were making the dough I was inspired to ask them what they thought about writing a thank you note and surprising them with some of the fresh-baked cookies? The two staff had looked tired and not super happy about helping out but had gone out of their way nonetheless. I thought about how often they must get unexpected requests and how frustrating that could quickly become - not being recognized for all the good they do. So the three of us thought up something witty and fun to put on their note and my Goddaughter pulled out my plethora of markers and went to work on drawing up a card that had on the front "YOU ARE A HERO" with the 3 of us as stick figures cheering and then on the inside we put "YOU SAVED OUR COOKIES AND OUR SLEEPOVER!" We thanked each of them by name and signed our names with "Love". Then they picked out the 4 "best" cookies and we placed them in decorated zip-locs. It was precious! When we got to the dining room the doors were locked but we were able to reach in and place the card and cookies in a way that would surprise them when they went to open for dinner! The kids felt so good and I was feeling grateful almost MORE for their enthusiasm and generosity than from this little "RAK". Now, technically it was not "random" per se, as it was a "thank you" in return for a kindness. But I am also writing a little note to a friend for no reason but to send love. Just wanted to share this glimpse of kindness in-stereo! ;)
I forgot to mention that my favorite part of the card was my Goddaughter drawing an AWESOME version of a chocolate chip cookie with a red cape that had "SG" on it in gold letters. I asked what they stood for and she said "Super Cookie!" And then she drew two cute little eggs with faces and one was tipped over on its side with an "o" on its face! Talk about techni-color JOY!!!
I love the tag line!!! Keep it!
I had to think hard about this one. I was eating at Subway and decided to sit close to the cash register so maybe I could buy lunch for someone. This kid came in and didn't have enough money to get a few cookies and as I was reaching for my wallet to help him out the guy behind him in line said, "I'll pay for it." RAK stealer!
On my way home I was racking my brain to try to come up with something and nothing was feeling right. I remembered that my roommate and her fiancee were having a long overdue "date night" and neither have a lot of money because they are just out of school. I had been given a $40 tip from a job I worked earlier that day, which was unusual so I decided to split it with my roommate for her date night. I gave them the $20 and told them they had to spend it on something they wouldn't normally get like a fancy appetizer or desert or drinks etc. They were so happy about it the guy started dancing and we were all just cracking up.
Chris
Chris!
I love it! RAK stealer!!! How awesome is that!!!
Little did you know, I had paid the guy at Subway to make sure you didn't get off too easy ;)
Who would have known that the generous tip you were given would go on to bless two more people? That is what this is all about!
Keep em coming people!!!
LY
I was in Detroit on Saturday afternoon walking from the red wings game back to our car. We decided to take the scenic walk hoping to run into a way to give back. We had a couple hands full of coins and decided to fill up any parking meters that were expired or close to that.
I know how upset I have been when I was just a few minutes late and had a ticket. It was a cold snowy day and I'm sure I saved some hard working Detroiters from paying a 50 dollar ticket on their weekend. As I was putting in money someone told me what I was doing was illegal. I went home and checked it out, sure enough I broke the law. I'm sure I could have gotten off if I told the officer what and why I was doing it! Maybe.....
:) Shine On!!!
My husband and I were in a town we were unfamiliar with the other day. Just checking out some nearby areas. We stopped to pick up some lunch at the small local grocery store. After paying for the sandwiches and chips at the counter I was putting away my change when the guy behind me realized he didn't have enough money to pay for his sandwich so I paid for it. The cashier and the guy both acted shocked anyone would do this. It was kind of uncomfortable but interesting that the opportunity came as it did. Wish I could join in the phone conference tonight. Everyone enjoy!
Small, very small RAK, but I'm going to count it because I've found that I have been stressing too much over trying to find something "big & out of the ordinary" to do:
....I'm currently out in CA spending the last two weeks of our break with a good friend of mine here in San Luis Obispo. Besides offering to babysit for the family we're staying with on the actual RAK day and cleaning up their kitchen (while babysitting) the next night, last night, even though really, really didn't want to because I was quite cold myself, I got up and turned up the heat at 5:00am because I knew that my friend definitely wouldn't want to wake up to that temperature ...though he didn't notice, it was the thought that counted & I am confident that all the love & kindness has been felt in this "Gethsemane" experience I've been having -- small, yet random & "whatever blesses one blesses all" :)
My RAK was surprising my grandmother with a gourmet chocolate beverage from our favorite coffee shop and bringing to her house. She loves these mocha treats and doesn't get out of the house, so is always surprised and happy when it happens. I hadn't brought over a treat like that in a while, and it reminded me how fun it is to do something, big or small, for others. I also have been helping a good friend with her grad school applications, staying up late editing in google docs. I love doing this, and learned more about her in the process. She got her finished app in yesterday and was very grateful for the extra pair of eyes.
Yay for RAK!
still rad
OK so I have to confess. With travels this weekend, I didn't stay caught up on my 30 days of yes. But I still want to share my RAK that I did without knowing it was the assignment. Over the last month or so I have been thinking alot about my goals for the next year. One of them is to do more RAKS. This evening when I was out to dinner I overheard the manager of a restaurant talking to a young man who had come in to apply for a job. The young man really only needed a job for a month because he was headed out of town. Instead of the manager talking "down" to him or shooing him away, he spoke so respectfully to him. He was so kind and thoughtful and even asked the young man to come back the following day. The Manager was so kind I just couldn't let it go unnoticed. So when I finished my meal, I walked over to him and first apologized for overhearing his conversation and then told him how thoughtful and respectful I thought he was. I complimented him for showing such kindness. The great thing is that he continued to have great humility and thoughtfulness. I then told him seeing his actions made me want to frequent his restaurant even more.
I know this may not qualify as a complete RAK, since I didn't actually give something away or "do" something, but for me it was so gratifying to me to catch him in the act of kindness and then let him know I noticed. I'm thrilled to be thinking of this even more and I will work to have RAKs every day.
PS - I too love RAK stealer. Don't we wish we all have experiences with others stealing our RAKs?
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