Photo by Ditto Bowo on Unsplash

Did you miss that November 11- 17 was National Kindness Week? I certainly did! Started in 1997, a group of people pledged to support each other with compassion and empathy. 

So, as we are now a week and half away from Thanksgiving, I encourage you to be kind and generous! Have compassion for others as we head into the holiday season: traffic, parking lots, grocery stores, gift shopping, and more all take our time and zap our energy. 

Go into your errands with positivity, being gracious when that person cuts you off or steals your parking space. Maybe park at the end of the row and get some of your steps in, instead of driving around trying to stake out the closest location. 

Have your lists and be flexible when meal shopping. Items might be out of stock, cashiers are exhausted, and it's not worth your energy to argue and fight over!

Offer other random acts of kindness in these ways:

1) Give to Charity. Choose one that means something to you. Support them financially or by volunteering. 

2) Invite someone to your holiday meal. As a solo church worker, I'm often alone on meals and I always appreciate the invites.. but be gracious if/ when they turn you down. Maybe offer to send them a plate or dessert instead! We don't ALWAYS want to be around people, right?

3) Speaking of, give people grace if they need alone time. Whether its family members, colleagues, or friends, it's a stressful busy time, and people are tired. Let them rest. 

4) If you want tangible, specific ideas, check out 25 Easy Random Acts of Kindess for Thanksgiving!