No, we’re not talking about Dirty Harry today.

Ponder the last time you were surprised, smiled and told someone, “Thanks—you just made my day!”

Now consider the last time you heard those words announced to you.

It doesn’t take much, does it? What a gift to receive some small or even large act of kindness. I can’t quite explain it, but I’ve often lived for those moments of giving, encouraging smiling, offering a bit of ease, and helping—sometimes even anonymously. Yes, I’ve plugged an almost-expired meter with coins. In college, I graced many a friend’s or acquaintance’s door with a pleasant note of encouragement, sometimes even anonymously; I just knew the recipient was having a difficult time. I’ve paid for parking for the car in line behind me. I hugged a stranger while out on a walk with my dog Harley because she was crying and told me she just lost her dog. This stuff seems so easy. Why not?

Tonight I was introduced to a resource that appeals to me and has inspired me to share an opportunity: MoreLoveLetters.com. You can see what they’re about and maybe even feel inspired to, yes… write, as in handwrite, a letter. And to more fully understand the nature of this loveliness, check out the founder Hannah Brencher’s TED talk at this link here.

Some time ago—goodness, is it already a year?—I received an anonymous card with a gift that made my day; I still keep it displayed, in fact, to remind myself that some of the work I’m doing is really helping people. Pictures are below. This person knows that I crochet and knows I love turtles, but I still haven’t figured out the identity of this generous soul.

     
Cover and inside of an anonymous card I received in the mail in the last year.

Which friend or family member of yours could use a love letter or act of kindness? These kinds of things don’t need to cost anything, as we know. The movie from awhile ago now, Pay It Forward, offered a similar, wonderful concept of a recipient of goodwill, instead of “paying it back,” does a favor for three others who continue the pattern. And while gratitude is a beautiful expression, it can also be best felt and shown “in kind”: “One can never pay in gratitude: one can only pay ‘in kind’ somewhere else in life” (Anne Morrow Lindbergh).

In the comments here or even on Facebook when I link this post, I’d love to see your ideas for simple ideas for kindness, without saying whether you’ve received or done it. I didn’t have the idea of paying for a stranger’s museum parking, as he waited in line behind me, until I was with a friend who had done it first, at a different, previous time.

In my tagline for my business Turtle Healing Energy, I was inspired to create and share the following message:

Be kind. Be hopeful. Be you. Be here.
~ Erika M. Schreck

Notice the first words are “Be kind.” Anonymous or identified, spread a little more love today.

© Erika M. Schreck and Turtle Healing Energy, 2013. All rights reserved.