I asked a group of close friends the other day if they would like to plan some sort of act of kindness that we could do together in the spirit of Juneau’s 2017 Year of Kindness. Everyone responded with a resounding ‘yes,’ which didn’t surprise me very much. What did surprise me, and what I found most inspiring, was the conversation that happened after that initial question.
First I shared an idea that I had for a simple act of kindness with the group. It was met with nods of approval, but then the magic that occurs when people put their heads together really happened. Everyone began brainstorming in earnest, using one another’s ideas as a spring board to come up with more ideas and more recipients for the various acts of kindness. Before we knew it, we had five or six great ideas for different groups within our community. They were all simple and inexpensive ideas, some costing nothing but our time.
We each had our own rationale and motivations for planning a random act of kindness. For some it was to model kind and compassionate behavior for their kids; for others it was a way to give back to a group that had helped them in the past, or a group whose mission they felt strongly about. We all wanted to help those less fortunate. Despite our subtle differences, we were all in agreement that being kind is the right thing to do — for those around us, for our community, for ourselves.
We decided that each of us would choose an act and together we would carry them out over the next several months.
For our first act, we decided to make blankets for foster children so they could have something warm to hold onto — a basic human need, we thought, during stressful times. We picked a Sunday afternoon, put on some coffee, and everyone brought different wonderfully patterned material. Within a couple hours we had a stack of blankets to donate and we’d all had a great time talking and creating in the spirit of kindness.
We haven’t decided which idea on our list will be our next random act yet, but I am already looking forward to it. I have found Juneau’s focus on kindness — noticing kindness and reporting kindness — to be a welcome respite from the overwhelmingly negative information we hear on the news each day. It’s easy to get bogged down in negativity when surrounded with such continual chaos. I am reminded of Fred Rogers’ quote from “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood,” “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” Juneau’s Year of Kindness has reminded me that there really is goodness everywhere. Yes, all the troubling news is still out there, but rather than be defeated by it, focusing on kindness changes our perspective, empowering us to know that we can make positive changes and make a difference, one kind act at a time.
For more information on Juneau’s Year of Kindness and how you can get involved, please visit the Juneau Police Department’s Facebook page, Juneau’s Random Acts web page at Juneau.randomacts.org, or email 17YOK@juneaupolice.com.
• Sarah Raster is a member of the 2017 Year of Kindness Steering Committee. She is a 21-year resident of Juneau and has been an active volunteer in the schools and served on various boards and community events.
