A bit over a year ago, I had an epiphany. I realised that I am one of the few people in this world who is blessed enough to have had a functional family; a good education; well paid jobs; and a lot of TLC (Tender Loving Care) surrounding me all my life. Yet with all those things, there was very little I was doing for others.
I started thinking about how to change it. I thought of donating more to charities; of offering my knowledge and services on a ‘pro-bono’ (ie. free) to others; I even thought of being nicer to people at work, and try to loose my lack-of-patience as an attribute.
Then, I remembered a movie I watched many, many years ago, and which really touched me deep within my heart. Pay it Forward, with Kevin Spacey and Helen Hunt is based on a book by the same title written by Catherine Ryan. And I thought to myself: Why can’t I start a Pay it forward movement?
I toyed with the idea; discussed it with Ines, my wife, confidant and advisor. And then decided to go for it.
The program has a goal: To encourage at least 1 million people to do a Random Act of Kindness by 2,012. I am not sure how will I track its target, but that is what I want to do. I created the concept of a ‘business card’ that can be given to the recipient of the act of kindness, to explain ‘Why me?’ and to encourage the recipient to Pass it forward (together with the card). I have a web site that explains it all. I am yet to hear from a recipient of one of my cards; but the web site is getting some traffic, so maybe it is just a matter of time.
Want to participate? Go to the web site and download the card;Get some ideas for ‘Random Acts of Kindness’ you can do; Submit your own ideas; share your story (you may even be the first one!), or read some reflections on the concept and the movement.
If this post made you think about *your* personal contribution towards a better world, I encourage you to “Pass it forward”. Take the chance to inspire someone, and you may already have done a lot to leave the world a better place, one step at a time.
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Hi. I was referred to you by Maverick Woman. She said that perhaps we have a similar goal i.e. the spreading of kind actions. Please have a look at what I am doing and get in touch if you think there is some synergy. I am collecting examples of kindness and it is pretty hard going.
DIEGO’s REPONSE:
Hello Yan, sorry for the delay in responding but I just realised that I had not setup comment notification properly. I relate to your feelings of how hard it can be to start a kindnes movement, and am definitely interested in exploring ways of working together. Will send you an invite soon to talk via Skype on ways we can collaborate.