The best portion of a good man’s life is his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love.
– William Wordsworth

I have this one magazine that I read pretty faithfully, and every week they have section called circle of kindness.  It relates stories about the various random acts of kindness people do for one another. I’m not going to lie, it’s one of my favorite sections.  It always gives me the warm fuzzies.

The quote today talks about random acts of kindness, but I disagree with one part of it.  They may be unremembered by the person who does it, but a random act of kindness is always remembered by the recipient.  Think about it, don’t you remember when someone is particularly kind to you?  I do.  I know at least for me, when somebody does something unexpected, it touches me.  It makes me feel as if I matter, and that someone cares about me.

Practicing random acts of kindness is a wonderful way to live life.  They don’t have to be huge things, or cost money.  Holding the door for someone, or helping somebody carry their groceries can go a long way toward brightening a day.  Yes it’s great to be able to pay for your coffee and the coffee of the person behind you, but even a smile or shoveling your neighbor’s walk after a huge snow storm can make someone’s day.

It doesn’t have to cost you anything, but it can brighten both your day and the day of the recipient.  The concept of pay it forward and random acts of kindness are nothing new, but they are concepts that should never be forgotten.