Planting seeds a of kindness can be as small as smiling at a stranger, or holding a door open for a woman pushing a stroller. Or it can be as big a gesture as the man with the sign offering to give a stranger a few bucks.
Or as big a gesture as giving the shoes off your feet, like this man on vacation did for a homeless girl in Rio de Janeiro.
Now let's find out how to get ready for Spring by planting seeds of kindness in our own backyards.
(Winx Club)
Yes, it would be fabulous if our childhood fairies could sprinkle happy dust on us, or perform the duties on our long Spring To Do List. Wouldn't that be awesome?
But here's an even more awesome thought. Maybe fairies can't make our lives easier, but we can become earthly angels to others in need and be blessed in the process. Spring is a great time to sow the seeds of kindness. Can you think of a better time?
Yes, the way to identify a tree or a person is by the kind of fruit produced. Matthew 7:20
Miracles and Blessings... Kiki, here with this week's iCafe Woman Moderne's text-webisode: Get Ready for Spring by Planting Seeds of Kindness.
Can you believe it, we're ten days away from Spring? Our iCafe Woman Moderne D.I.V.A.S. (Dynamic, Industrious, Victorious, Artistic and Strong) are busy making plans for their Spring planting of kindness.
We're kicking off Spring by first celebrating International Women's Day 2013 (March 8, 2013) theme: A Promise is a Promise: Time for action to end violence against women.
International Women's Day website asked this question: Which world leader achieves the most for women?
President Barach Obama (USA) - 31.86%
Julia Gillard (AUSTRALIA) - 28.58%
Angela Merkel (GERMANY) - 24.94%
David Cameron (UK) - 4.83%
Francois Hollands (FRANCE) - 3.88%
Let's plant the seeds of kindness our iCafe Woman Moderne
D. I. V. A. S. found along the virtual highway. Here are ten seeds you can plant rightaway, the rest may take a little planning, but they will all yield a lovely bloom.
Carla's Random Acts of Kindness seeds. (Oprah.com)
1. Say "Good morning" to a person standing next to you in the elevator.
2. Pay the toll for the driver behind you.
3. Give a homeless person your doggie bag from lunch or dinner.
4. Offer to pick up groceries for an elderly neighbor, especially in inclement weather.
5. Each time you get a new item of clothing,
give away something old.
6. Bring your assistant coffee.
7. Offer to babysit for a single mother.
8. Forgive someone of a debt--and never bring it up again.
9. Simply say "I'm sorry," when you're wrong.
10. Offer change when the person in front of you at the register comes up short.
Here are four more seeds of kindness that may take a little planning, but the harvest will be plentiful for others.
(Behance.net)
(Gayle's Chocolates)
Geri's Perfect Little Pink Dress Tea Seed
1. Host a Perfect Little Pink Dress Tea for Cancer Survival
Their first stop was right here at their favorite virtual cafe for inter-generation women, teens and girls housed inside an Art Moderne midcentury modern home.
Host a Tea for family and friends where you plan fundraising events to help impoverished people. And/or host a Perfect Little Pink Dress Tea for Cancer Survival. You can have both right in your home.
You provide the place, tea and goodies and your guests will make a pledge for a pre-determined amount. You'll use this money to provide a special day for a woman or women undergoing cancer treatments.
Your guest/s of honor will attend the tea and be pampered there or given future pampering with gifts like: a masage, a manicure, her own perfect little black dress (or little pink dress), a stylish wig, etc.
Purpose: Help women undergoing cancer treatments feel empowered and beautiful during the biggest fight of their lives.
Virginia's Repurposing an Abandoned Lot into a New Playground Seed
You won't be able to stop smiling after watching this video.
Each time the box opens it invites a child to play in Haiti, a country still rebuilding from the hurricane's devastation, and in Bangladesh where many children live on the streets.
These portable playgrounds give children an opportunity to work through their problems and create their own solutions.
Thanks to U.N.I.C.E.F. 's P.L.A.Y Initiative and Disney's Imagination Playground, Children in Haiti and Bangladesh are getting the chance to play again.
Purpose: To give children back their childhood.
AN OLD AMBULANCE RE-PURPOSED
In Blantyre, Malawi, a hospital harnesses the healing power of play by offering its patients an ambulance-turned-playground.
Two Dutch designers repurposed an old ambulance and transformed it into a playground that sports a slide, swing, monkey bars, clubhouse area and fireman's pole. It's also handicap-accessible so that the hospital's wheelchair-bound patients can play alongside other patients and children from the neighborhood.
KaBoom! can help you get started on your own neighborhood playground. Still not sure? Watch this video.
Birdie's Daffodil Day's Seed
3. Be a Daffodil Days' Volunteer Coordinator for the American Cancer Society - It's not too late.
Daffodil Days is March 18-24.
How it Works. Each Daffodil Days' contributor donates a Gift of Hope in any denomination and receives a beautiful bunch of daffodils.
A Gift of Hope donation funds cancer research, educational programs, advocacy, services for cancer patients and their families, and furthers the mission of the American Cancer Society. The Gift of Hope also delivers flowers anonymously to cancer patients in medical centers and facilities.
Purpose: To support cancer research, advocacy and services for cancer patients.
(Gayle's Chocolates)
Kendace's Advent Angel Seed
4. Become a Lenten/Springtime Angel
You can pick a day or a business week to do anonymous acts of kinds at the workplace. Perhaps your company's receptionist is having a difficult week and you know she loves chocolate bars. Put a chocolate bar on her desk with a bow and an "I appreciate your hard work," note.
For five days you can place a different chocolate bar on her desk, with a note of encouragement and sign it from your Springtime Angel.
Perhaps a co-worker just returned from funeral leave. You can put strawberries in a cheery mug with a smiley face, or place apples in a Dollar Tree Store vase. Or each day drop off a different kind of fruit, or the same kind if you know he or she likes a particular fruit.
Stephanie 's Strawberry Tea Pot and Strawberry Mug Cake
What if your Springtime Angel target loves tea and strawberry shortcake. Stephanie found this adorable strawberry tea pot and strawberry mug cake made in a microwave at Kirbie's Cravings, San Diego Food Blog
Here's the recipe... (For more mug cake recipes and other delectables stop by Kirbie's Cravings.)
Strawberry Mug Cake
Yield: 1 oversized mug
Ingredients:
5 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
2 strawberries, each cut into 4-5 pieces
4 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
2 strawberries, each cut into 4-5 pieces
Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients except strawberries into oversized mug. Stir with a small whisk or fork until batter is smooth. Carefully drop strawberry pieces on top.
2. Microwave for 1 1/2 minutes. If cake is not done, microwave for an additional 30 seconds. Serve while warm.
Could it be in any easier? You don't have to be Betty Crocker to make this tasty microwave treat.
2. Microwave for 1 1/2 minutes. If cake is not done, microwave for an additional 30 seconds. Serve while warm.
Could it be in any easier? You don't have to be Betty Crocker to make this tasty microwave treat.
Purpose: To be a blessing, and bring unexpected joy to someone else's life.
There are countless opportunities to plant seeds of kindness in the lives of others. It just takes a compassionate soul and a little creativity. Have Fun!
Last, but not least...
Here are seven-day acts of kindness you can
extend to both children and adults from KaBOOM!
MONDAY - Give a High Five - Don't you feel empowered after someone gives you a hig-five? Sure you do. So don't be stingy ass them out liberally to children and adults. You'll see some wonderful smiles.
TUESDAY - Draw a hopscotch board on the sidewalk.
Turn a stranger's routine walk into a hop, skip, and a jump by sketching out a hopscotch board with a sidewalk chalk. For extra fun, target a business district or a bus stop to put some play into the daily grind.
WEDNESDAY - Give classic toys to adults and kids in need of FUN. Know an adult who takes life too seriously? A kid who needs more playtime that doesn't involve a screen? Slip them one of those good old-fashioned toys you loved growing up ...like a Slinky, Etch A Sketch, rubber ball, or blob, a yo-yo, Silly Putty, a ball and jacks, Rubik's Cube, etc.
THURSDAY - Carry bubbles with you. This is something I've done several times. Hey, you get a bottle of bubbles as a wedding favor, it's meant to be used. Children love it, adults raise their eyebrows for a second and then smile, wishing they had a bottle of bubbles too.
You're waiting at an ATM, a bus stop, or to get into your favorite cheese steak shop -- why not break out some bubbles to pass the time? You'll find more than a few smiles.
FRIDAY - Create a pop-up playground. Bring cardboard boxes and other found objects to a park, plaza, or other public space near you. Let your kids or neighborhood kids start building and creating, and encourage curious onlookers to get in on the fun.
SATURDAY - Paint cheerful faces on rocks and leave them in unexpected locations throughout your neighborhood.
SUNDAY - After church, take a group of kids to a playground.
Got 3 Hours a Week to Create a Passive Income Stream? In one month, Nick Usborne made $4,447, spending only three hours, writing about his passion… COFFEE. That’s one night of prime-time TV. Here’s how you can write what you love in your own content-rich money making website with AWAI's - How to Write Your Own Money-Making Websites
You're waiting at an ATM, a bus stop, or to get into your favorite cheese steak shop -- why not break out some bubbles to pass the time? You'll find more than a few smiles.
FRIDAY - Create a pop-up playground. Bring cardboard boxes and other found objects to a park, plaza, or other public space near you. Let your kids or neighborhood kids start building and creating, and encourage curious onlookers to get in on the fun.
SATURDAY - Paint cheerful faces on rocks and leave them in unexpected locations throughout your neighborhood.
SUNDAY - After church, take a group of kids to a playground.
Got 3 Hours a Week to Create a Passive Income Stream? In one month, Nick Usborne made $4,447, spending only three hours, writing about his passion… COFFEE. That’s one night of prime-time TV. Here’s how you can write what you love in your own content-rich money making website with AWAI's - How to Write Your Own Money-Making Websites
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