Emma reporting here----- guess what, I haven't contributed to The Kindness Report in weeks!  Thankfully, Kat has been keeping the home kindness fires burning.  She has such a knack for finding the great, the teeny, and the always touching stories of kindness.  Kat is the Kindness Queen!

Although I haven't been reporting on kindness here in The Kindness Report.  I've been crafting a DailyKindness email that goes out, as you might guess, every day to folks who have signed up for it.  With this first day of December, I have vowed to take the time to double post these DailyKindness blurbs right here on the blog, too.  It's a perfect fit; it's just been a time-crunch thing that has kept me from doing it...

If you have signed up for the DailyKindness email & you read the blog, I'm sorry, you'll see repetition.  But my gut says the majority are going one place or the other, so overall, I just think it's good-kindness-practice to post more than less...

We're enjoying our first snowfall here in St. Louis this morning!  As the temperature fall into winter, Kindness (with a capital K!) keeps us warm inside.

Live kindly,

Emma

Compassion is the thread that connects us all and the holidays are a fine time to lend a hand, listen closely and share what we've got plenty of. (You don't want the whole pie, now, do you?)

When someone unexpectedly pays us a compliment or does us a good turn, it evokes a feeling akin to the first stirrings of love—a weightlessness and joy that make all problems suddenly seem like possibilities. We begin to believe that no matter how much pain others have inflicted on us, goodness is still possible, compassion exists, selflessness hasn't been forgotten. And the more kindness others bestow upon us, the more we want to pass on some of our own.

Each time we extend ourselves to another, we are also reminded of how we are inextricably linked to our friends, our neighbors, even to those we dislike. "We cannot live only for ourselves," the great writer Herman Melville once said. "A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men; and among those fibers, as sympathetic threads, our actions run as causes, and they come back to us as effects." That's why a generous, gracious deed has the power to transform us—when we show kindness to others, we become the beneficiary of our own love and care.

During the holidays and throughout the coming year, as you perform large and small kindnesses, know that you are sending compassion into the world, and that your efforts can absolutely change one person…who can change another…who can change another…

"When you get, give; when you learn, teach!" — Oprah

It's a simple but powerful way to use your life and connect with others—start a "Kindness Chain." Performing acts of kindness is one of the best and quickest ways to improve your life.

[Don't you love how she says "quickest" - because it's SO true. Kindness can be a quick thing to do!]

All you have to do to start your own Kindness Chain is do something nice for someone else…that's it! Encourage them to "pass it on" so the chain isn't broken.

Create a Kindness Journal to document your chain as it grows! On the inside cover of a notebook, write your name and address, and ask that the journal be returned to you when it is full. Write down your first good deed and give the journal to the person you did something nice for so they can do the same for someone else! Not only are you spreading kindness, you're creating a book of inspiring stories.

[If you don't start a journal - email us your kindness stories so that we can capture them and blog them for you! Let's face it - blogs are the new hip way to capturing memories and the like!]

Perform good deeds in your community, at school, or at work. Do something nice for one of your friends, a random acquaintance or a group of people.

Start as big or small as you like! Baking cookies for someone, helping with housecleaning or even babysitting can make a great link in a Kindness Chain.

Marilyn Mock, bought the home of Tracy Pottsboro, at a foreclosure auction for $30,000. Pottsboro will move back in and make payments to Mock instead of the bank.

While we try to be kind all year round, I do think there's an extra push toward kindness during the holiday season. Reading my body + soul magazine tonight, I stumbled upon an article all about kindness during the holidays. Here are some of their ideas for putting forth kindness in your everyday holiday celebrations. Perhaps you'll find a new tradition to add to your holiday.

- Cook and deliver a meal to a friend who's feeling overwhelmed.

- Purchase extra toys to bring to the local family homeless shelter.

- Help an elderly relative decorate her home for the holidays.

- Stand in line at the post office to mail packages for a sick friend.

- Bring a tree with decorations to a family who can't afford one.

And as the article states, "Help doesn't need to be complicated. Sometimes your greatest miracle comes when you share your time, experience, or knowledge."

Other gems - "We all have unique abilities that, when we share them, make a positive difference. Star by considering those talents you most enjoy expressing. Whatever action you choose to take, do yourself a big favor: Commit to experiencing the joy of working a bona fide in someone else's life this holiday season."

It's kind of neat to see what pops up!

This one is a fun one.

My friend taking the time to listen to me fret about the stress I'm encountering and not trying to fix anything but giving me the space to speak frankly. Telling jokes and making me laugh to make me smile. It's such an easy thing to do for someone but really the ability to make people laugh is such an act of kindness.

My coworker who is collecting leftover halloween candy for her son's school to send to troops in Iraq.

Taking the time to help someone purchase a train ticket while he spoke no English and I spoke no Spanish. I missed my train and had to take a later one but at least we got him the right ticket and headed in the right direction.

Sharing the newspaper with the person sitting next to you on the train.

Creating a "welcome" sign for a new coworker to make him feel.....well welcome!

Giving hugs when needed and when not needed.

And PS - did you know that it's World Kindness Week? And Friday is World Kindness Day? Throw some kindness out there and have it boomerang back to you!

Annie, thanks for sharing this story with us & the love in your heart with Anthony.

Be well,
Emma