Recapping My Birthday Wish

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As you may have read Monday in My Birthday Wish, my goal for my birthday was to perform random acts of kindness (RAOK) and of Alpha Chindness, and to encourage others to do the same. "A random act of kindness is a selfless act performed by a person or persons wishing to either assist or cheer up an individual." A random act of Alpha Chindness is the same idea, just done for an AXO sister.

I planned out my first RAOK Sunday evening so I would be ready to go on Monday. [Hey they are random acts, not spontaneous acts (though that is a good idea too as well).]

I decided to go to Starbucks and buy coffee for the people behind me in line. Monday turned out to be an ideal day for this as it was not only Monday but a cold, damp, dreary Monday. I had an old gift card with a little over $11 on it, so after I paid for my coffee (decaf mocha for those of you interested in details), I gave the card to the cashier and asked him to wait until I left and then use the balance to pay for other customers' orders until it was used up. To be honest it made me a little nervous to actually have this conversation! But the cashier was excited about the idea and thought it would make some people's days. He also said he would pass it on, which made me really happy. I think the more you practice, this easier it probably gets.

For my acts of Alpha Chindness, that afternoon I wrote 5 cards to sisters, which will hopefully brighten their days when their mail carriers deliver them.

Planning to be kind made me notice others being kind. For example, a nice man held the door for me at Starbucks when I arrived. I might not have noticed that if I wasn't intent on being nice. In fact, I was showered with kindness all day - from facebook notes to tweets to dinner with friends - it was all-nice-all-day!

I shared my plans on facebook and twitter and got such nice responses from everyone. The best part was the enthusiasm with which friends greeted the idea - they didn't just want to participate, they were excited about it. Thank you all for your enthusiasm and kindness, and for helping me celebrate my birthday in a meaningful way. It means the world to me.