14 Random Acts of Love

“No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted.” – Aesop

Another Valentine’s Day. I spent several hours this year trying to decide how to feel about this day. The pessimist in me wanted to scoff at the silly, man-made, consumerist “holiday”. The single-girl in me wanted to stock up on red wine and half-priced heart-shaped chocolate and hide from the cute world for a day.

And then the optimist in me finally broke through and thought, what if Valentines day was simply a day for expressing and spreading love? Not just the kind of love between a “couple.” Love for people, Love for the earth, Love for myself.. What if I were to use this day to take all the love that I’ve got and just throw it out into the universe in as many ways as I can think of?

I recently read and shared an article called “The Birthday Project – 38 Random Acts of Kindness” – an inspiring story by Robyn Bomar who decided to spend her 38th birthday completing 38 Random Acts of Kindness with the help of her husband and children. I loved this idea so much, I decided this was exactly how I’d spend my February 14th – completing 14 Random Acts of Love

So here it is!

14 Random Acts of Love

1) I mailed Valentine cards with hand written letters to my far away friends. Because I love them. And they should know it.

2) I taped a Valentine card to my good friends door before heading to work. Because I love him too. And he should know it.

2) I wrote a handful of simple Valentine notes like this one:

Covered them in ziplock bags (since it was rainy this morning) :

And then stuck them on random windshields. Like this one:

**Did you get one of my notes?? I hope it made you smile 🙂 **

3) I smiled and said good-morning to each and every person I saw on my way to my bus-stop. And received a ton of smiles and cheerful good-mornings in return.

4) I baked cupcakes. I baked a LOT of cupcakes. And I walked around my entire office, hand delivering a cupcake and a valentine to each of my co-workers. Because they are awesome too.

5) I made a donation to the BC Cancer Foundation, in loving memory of a beautiful person who lost her battle with cancer recently.

6) I wrote thank you notes to my next door neighbors on each side, thanking them for being such great neighbors and slipped them under their doors with Starbucks cards.

7) I made a list of 10 things that I am thankful for and took a minute to smile and meditate on each one.

8) I cut 5 minutes off my regular shower time (yes, I set a timer). I unplugged any power cords, chargers, etc and turned the heat down before I left for work. Saving energy = Lovin the Earth.

9) I cleaned out my closet and donated a large bag of clothing, books and other items to a local charity.

10) I gave my seat to a lady on the bus who had just a little more to carry than I did.

11) I ordered a coffee, got the last stamp (for a free coffee) on my card and handed it to the girl behind me in line. She looked shocked at first and then gave me an enormous smile and a quiet thank you. That felt pretty awesome.

12) I sent “Happy Valentine’s Day xo” texts to my parents.

13) Paid genuine compliments to a few friends, co-workers and even a few strangers. This one was surprisingly easy. Who doesn’t like hearing something nice about themselves? Never hold back a compliment. I wont anymore.

14) I let a gentleman go ahead of me in line at the grocery store whose arms seemed uncomfortably full of items. He was so much more appreciative than I had expected. It was pretty awesome

And that was my day!  I was so thrilled with all of the smiles and fantastic reactions I received from everyone I encountered today, and surprised myself a little when I realized how easy it is to incorporate these small, kind gestures into a regular day.  This may have been have been my favorite February 14th so far.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Lots and lots and lots of love,

Sarah x