Sometimes my blog will be mundane stuff that I have done during the day, but other times I might give myself a subject to write about, especially when it's been a pretty uneventful day (like today).
About 20 years ago I watched a film called "Pay it Forward" and it really resonated with me. So much so I decided I was going to try and attempt to do something similar.
The basic idea is a teacher gave his pupils the impossible task to come up with an idea that could change the world. One student comes up with an idea that he will do 3 random acts of kindness for 3 people that aren't able to do it for themselves. Instead of asking for something in return he will just ask them to 'pay it forward to 3 other people and do something for 3 strangers. I won't spoil the film as it's a great watch. I knew that many people often did random acts of kindness and so I wanted to be able to do something, that wouldn't be so fleeting and would almost create a ripple effect.
I designed (very crudely) my very first RAK card and printed them off then laminated them. The idea was that was every I go chance I would do a random act of kindness for someone and then pass on the little business card. The cards explain that they have been treated to a random act of kindness and encourages them to keep hold of the card and pass it on to someone when they are able to one for someone else. It can be anything from buying an extra coffee in a coffee shop, to clearing someone's drive of snow, there is nothing too big/small really it's all relative to the person.
If I pay for something like a coffee or a bag of sweets (which tends to be my thing if I go to a supermarket) then, I don't hand them over to a random person myself, as I have found they are usually quite suspicious of the motive. Instead, I give the item and the card to the shopkeeper/till assistant and ask them to choose someone to give them to. I prefer not to be there really when the person is given it as I get embarrassed so usually make a sharp exit. Plus it's then two 3 fold as I get the fuzzy feeling knowing I have just created another ripple, the shop person gets to be the bearer of the gift and gets that fuzzy feeling and the recipient gets the fuzzy feeling to be on the receiving end. It's really not about the gratitude or recognition for doing the actual deed itself, I know I've done it and that's enough.
Another thing I notice, when I suggest to the person at the till to pick someone for the random act, they usually say "oh I know a lovely lady who always comes in" or "I'll pick someone nice". If they say this I always say to them "obviously it's your choice but that's the easy thing to do as it's easy to be nice to someone who is nice. The challenge is to be nice to someone who might look miserable or doesn't engage with you etc. They are probably the person that needs it the most because you don't know why they are feeling like that, they may be having a really bad day and this could be just the thing they need".
My dad always used to be quite synical about it and say things like "how do you know they will give someone the coffee and not just keep the money", but like I would always tell him, "that's on them, Ive done my part, if they choose not to pass it on then that's on them".
20 years later and I am now on version 5 of the cards and it is something I have managed to continue doing. The first 2 versions were very crude and also time-consuming as I had to print, cut out, laminate and trim each one. Once I knew it was something I would stick with (see next paragraph) I decided to get a batch printed. Version 3 then become versions 3, 4, and 5 as Vistaprint sent the first lot with no foiling (I don't have one of this version as I used them all first), version 4 came with foiling but a random white square around the tree that wasn't on the proof. Eventually, I got the correct one - version 5. The trouble is they sent the complete order of 1000 cards each time they sent an incorrect version, so I ended up with 3000 of them. Now I like to think I'm kind but I do think it's gonna take a while to get through that many lol.
Below are the different versions (missing version 4)
And on the back of each card is the text below:-
I am usually not the most consistent person and often love something to bits for about a week and then lose interest. I was that child that begged for the Karate kit cos it was something I loved and then stopped going the week after I got it. I do struggle with committing to doing something long-term. That's one of the reasons. I started my blog, to prove to myself I could do it every day consistently. Even now I end up typing up 3 days at a time because I've forgotten to do it. But I just want to aim to do a full year without missing a day. Maybe then it will become a habit and I will just continue with it. Plus I find it quite therapeutic to do a brain dump each day and pour out anything that's on my mind. I'm not expecting a large readership etc, but if someone reads one of my blogs and can relate to it and then doesn't feel so alone, then it's worth it.
If you would like to get involved and do your own RAK's please drop a comment or get in touch and I would be happy. to send you some of my cards. Let's create so many ripples it turns into a tidal wave of kindness. ;-)
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