RAK – Eclectic Mama

As we get older, we need less stuff. My dad says it all the time. He doesn’t need more stuff come the holidays or his birthday. None of us do.

With that in mind, I have decided to celebrate my birthday in a whole new way. In lieu of presents, I plan to ask friends and family to help me accomplish a list of random acts of kindness over the course of two days in December.

I want to give to others instead of receiving anything myself except that warm fuzzy feeling that comes from helping others.

I highly encourage everyone to do this at least once. I plan to do this with my daughter when she is older. I think the life lessons we can learn from an activity like this are invaluable, not to mention the health benefits.

According to Random Acts of Kindness, performing just one Random Act of Kindness (RAK) each day not only reduces stress, anxiety and depression, but it also causes the body to release serotonin, endorphins and oxytocin which all means a calmer, healthier and happier you.

Need some ideas for random acts of kindness? Here’s my list. I hope it inspires you to create and complete your own list of random acts of kindness.

Return stray grocery carts to the cart returns or to the store.
Help elderly shoppers load bags into their cars.
~~Feed expired parking meters.~~
I have since found out this is illegal. Of course, I was curious as to why. Here’s what I found out. Meters were originally employed to increase the turnover of spaces so local businesses could serve more customers. But anyone (even the owner of the car in the space) meter-feeding (continually adding money to the same meter and not moving the car) is basically hogging that spot and defeating the purpose of the meter. Hence the 30 minutes to two-hour time limit on most meters. TIL
Buy a gift card at the grocery store and hand it to the person in line behind me.
Hand out gift cards to families eating dinner at a restaurant.
Take a box of cookies to my local fire department or post office.
Take a box of cake pops to my vet.
Take a box of warm doughnuts to a crew working outside in the cold.
Donate clothes and winter coats to a homeless shelter.
Pay for someone behind me in line at the drive-thru.
Leave notes on a few cars in a parking lot that simply wish people a good day filled with many blessings.
Take stuffed animals or toys to the Children’s Hospital.
Tape quarters to vending machines.
Leave a note and gift card for my mail carrier.
Read a story to some kids at a bookstore.
Let someone move in front of me in line at the store.
Take pet supplies to a local animal shelter.
Go put flowers on family members’ graves.
Buy flowers and hand them out to random people.
Let cars into traffic.
Let someone else have a good parking space should there be one available.
Hold the door open for others.
Take canned goods to the local food bank.
Buy a homeless person a meal or a cup of coffee.
Take flowers to the hospital and have staff give them to someone who doesn’t get any visitors.
Pay a sincere compliment to a stranger.
Pick up trash or recycling that you see on the ground.
Write a great online review for a local business you love.
Do a chore for someone without them asking.
Send someone a thank you note even if it’s just for their friendship.
Leave an inspirational note in a book at the library or bookstore.
Leave quarters at a laundromat.
Handmake a card or gift for someone.
Leave a server a generous tip.
Resist the urge to complain.
Donate used books to a library or school.
Adopt a family at the holidays or send a soldier a care package.
Adopt an animal from a shelter.

So there you have it — plenty of ideas for me and you to start spreading more kindness in the world. What other ideas do you have for your random acts of kindness? Share in the comments!

There are days and time when it all just gets to be too much. You need to step away from it all and take a breath. Self-care, anyone? Here are my favorite ways to take a few minutes for myself and reset.

1. Go window shopping online.

Seriously. My favorite is Zulily. They have the neatest stuff.

I go in to the Zulily app and then browse around and add everything I like to my cart.

Once I’m done shopping, I close the app. I don’t even look at my cart.

However, the next time I open the app, I will check the cart. Most items won’t be available anymore. I’ll delete them from the cart while feeling relieved that I didn’t purchase them.

Because, do I really need espadrille flats that have “C’est La Vie” across the toes? Probably not.

And no matter how adorable she might look in them, I don’t need the next three sizes of those rainbow jammies for my daughter.

2. Light a candle and count your breathing.

Specifically, breathe in through your nose for a count of four.

Then breathe out through your nose for a count of seven.

I first learned about this from Suzy Ashworth’s The Calm Birth Method: Your Complete Guide to a Positive Hypnobirthing Experience.

You’ll notice that your out-breath is almost twice as long as your in-breath. This technique is effective because it triggers your body’s natural calming reflex.

3. Blast your favorite tunes and dance it out.

In my music library, there are constantly growing playlists of:

• songs to dance to
• songs to sing at the top of my lungs to
• songs to slow down to

Just to name a few. At a moment’s notice, I can have my own personal, self-curated soundtrack for whatever I’m feeling and whatever my soul needs to rejuvenate.

4. Go for a walk outside and stimulate your senses.

I know it sounds cliché, but it works. Even if you only walk around your own backyard.

Sometimes I just go sit in a lawn chair outside in the shade of our carport. I listen to and watch the birds and squirrels. If I’m lucky I see a butterfly. If I’m really lucky, it’s raining or the sprinklers are on.

Did you know your brain craves sensory-input? It does.

Rain produces a sound like white noise. Your brain breathes a sigh of relief and thanks you for the sensory-input by calming you down.

Conversely, bright sunshine will keep you stimulated if that’s what you need.

If it’s not raining or you don’t have sprinklers, try a white noise app.

My current favorite is Colored Noise Generator. It allows you to choose from six colored noises: white, pink, brown, blue, purple and gray.

The nerd in me loves the feature that shows you the octaves producing each color of sound and allowing you to isolate them.

5. If you have a pet, pet it.

Or better yet, snuggle it. Dog. Cat. Whatever you got. (Leave the fish where they are though.)

Know why they take animals into hospitals to see people who are sick? Because it makes them feel better.

In their February 2018 article The Power of Pets: Health Benefits of Human-Animal Interactions, the National Institutes of Health says that pets may “decrease stress, improve heart health, and even help children with their emotional and social skills.”

Interacting with a pet has also been shown to decrease levels of a stress hormone called cortisol and to lower blood pressure. So go get your furry-friend snuggle on.

6. Do a Random Act of Kindness.

Feeling more relaxed yet? What are some of your favorite ways to quickly relax and destress? Share in the comments below.

Tag: RAK