Oliver: What if we made kindness a normal part of our everyday life?

Today is a special day. Today is World Kindness Day.

Perhaps being kind shouldn’t require its own special day, but this is the world we live in. Kindness sadly isn’t practiced by everyone. One need only look at last week’s election to see what I mean.

Still, most of us want to be civil, kind and empathetic. Or at least that’s what I tell myself.

We want our children to learn to be kind, caring adults. To do that, we must model that behavior.

World Kindness Day was created in 1998 by the World Kindness Movement. Here’s what that organization says about the purpose of the day: “This day encourages people from all walks of life to celebrate World Kindness Day by performing good deeds and spreading positive energy in their communities.” (www.worldkindness.org)

The idea is along the same lines as the “Pay it Forward” movement. We do kind things for others and hopefully that encourages them to do the same for someone else, creating a chain reaction of good.

Realistically, though, we sometimes must be kind because it’s the right thing to do, even if we don’t get the response we desire. Even so, kindness still matters, and positivity is never wasted.

Where do we start? How can we participate in World Kindness Day?

The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation (www.randomactsofkindness.org) offers these ideas as a starting point with the goal of making kindness a normal part of our day:

- Send an uplifting text to a friend or family member.

- Let that guy merge into traffic with a wave and a smile.

- Include intentional moments of kindness, laughter and delight in your daily routine.

- Go slightly outside of your comfort zone at least once a day to make someone smile.

- Share a compliment with a co-worker or friend.

- Reach out to a family member you haven’t spoken to in a while.

- Treat someone to a cup of coffee (a friend, stranger or even yourself).

Here are a few more suggestions, since the idea is to keep this rolling far beyond today:

- Visit a senior home and deliver a kind surprise.

- Visit the nearest little free library and donate a book.

- Write a handwritten letter and mail it.

- Be a friend to a lonely neighbor.

- Be an active listener when in the company of others.

- Write positive messages on sticky notes and leave them for others to find.

- Be kind to people in the service industry.

- Celebrate someone you love.

- Challenge yourself to only write positive comments online.

- Cook a meal for someone who is struggling.

Of course, the possibilities are endless. If we look around, no doubt we will see people who could use a hand or a smile or a word of encouragement. Caregivers would especially appreciate that.

The beauty of kindness is that it doesn’t have to cost us anything but a little effort. What we get back in return usually far exceeds what we put out there.

Still lacking ideas? Here are even more, courtesy of Save the Children (savethechildren.org):

- Help your local food pantry.

- Volunteer your time in the community. (Worthy organizations are always looking for help.)

- Check on neighbors and family members who live alone, are elderly or have health or mobility issues. (Perhaps we could rake leaves or help them get their home ready for winter.)

- Provide support to frontline health workers and first responders.

- Assist in local or online fundraising efforts. (Many groups have Amazon wish lists or put their needs up on their websites.)

Whatever you decide to do, consider making kindness the norm in your life. Who knows, you just might find that you’re happier because of it.

Let’s get busy.

• Joan Oliver is the former Northwest Herald assistant news editor. She has been associated with the Northwest Herald since 1990. She can be reached at jolivercolumn@gmail.com.