Playing the Kindness Card

#26actsofkindness has got to be the best hashtag ever created.

After the unspeakable sorrow of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, there was the inevitable feeling of powerlessness for all of us who watched and heard and knew not how to help. But news anchor Ann Curry communicated an idea after the tragedy that has taken root: she tweeted the concept #26actsofkindness, to prompt people like us to do a kindness for each of the 20 children and six adults who lost their lives. Thousands of people have tweeted back to her about the things they’ve done for others as a result. Last week, I caught a program where Curry was being interviewed about the effort… and it struck a resonant chord in me.

I like to think I live my life like this anyway – seeing where a kindness would help someone and just doing it. But there was so much more to this movement that I made a vow to do this, too. I loved the idea of being more mindful, of knowing that these 26 acts I will send out into the world early in 2013 are in honor and memory of those beautiful Newtown souls that left this earth too soon. I floated the idea to my staff, and asked if they wanted to join me in this effort – and, wonderful people that they are, they committed without hesitation. When we each have our 26, we’re going to share our favorite one with each other. Between us, over the next few weeks, we will be sending 130 more acts of kindness out into the world that might not have happened were it not for this prompt from the universe. That’s amazing! And it’s just a small piece of what could happen if most of the people in the world played the kindness card even one more time than they might have done otherwise, to pay tribute to someone they know (or know of) who deserves a legacy of love.

So here’s my challenge, friends – can we share this out even further? Can we compound the interest on this incredible notion to make it richer and more meaningful, and help it touch more people? I think we can. And then we’ll have to create a new hashtag: #100trillionactsofkindness

©2013 A Bit of Brie/Anitabrie