Big News!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Act Kind Blog has moved!! I bought the name actkindblog.com. The blog is also now open for user profiles which can post their own blog entries. I know this is a pain but it would be great if everyone would migrate over there.

Thanks for the support
Cory

Weare the Crowd

During my visit to NYC last weekend I came across an interesting street performer. Actually he was a subway car performer. He was on the connector train from New Jersey to New York. This was a smart place to be because the train stayed in the station longer than regular trains, due to the longer distance between stops.

He was energetic and funny as well as a talented guitarist, rapper and beat boxer. Beat boxing is a form of vocal percussion. When he was done I expected him to ask for donations but he didn't. Instead he had a CD for sale. I liked this and decided to buy one. It was pretty good so below is one of his groups songs.

The groups name is Weare the Crowd. He is the guy on the left.

Submitted by Mary Ann Tasca

Amazing kind act on top of another amazing kind act

Yesterday at work I was told a great story by one of the FedEx customer service agents. She had a customer who wanted to send a package to Locks of Love. This in itself is a kind act worthy of a blog entry but it gets better. When she found out how much it was going to cost she decided it was to expensive. She was going to send it a slower method using FedEx ground. When the man behind her heard this he offered to pay for her shipping. This man was a complete stranger and must have been inspired by her donation. This was an amazing kind act on top of another amazing kind act.

Name Survey (Please Help)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello Everyone,

I am planning to change the name of the project and would like some help.

First off I am wondering what impression the current name gives? Act Kind

Next, here is a few names I am thinking of. If any one grabs your attention please post it in the comments.

- Kind Act Community

- Act Kind Community

- Kindness Community

- Focus on Kindness

- Focusing on Kindness

To be honest I used to just let them go.

I realized that in the past at FedEx I used to let wet and slightly damaged packages go right by me. I am now more conscious of the condition of these packages and take action when seeing them. Even though I am extremely busy at work, I now take the extra time to ensure that these package are properly taken care of.

Just recently I noticed a really wet package and decided to change the envelope to a dry one. When I opened the package I saw that it was someones resume and it was ruined. This made me very concerned. How could I send out this persons resume looking this way.

I decided to take action and flagged down one of the customer service agents and tried to enlist their help.  I had found a phone number on the resume and ask him to call it and ask the customer if he wanted his package back so he could resend a better version.

He took the package and brought it into the office. He came out only a second later and explained that he passed it off. This concerned me because he obviously didn't have time to explain the situation to the receiver.

She brought the package out to me with a fresh envelope and a new label and told me it was all set. I asked her if she called the customer and she look at me puzzled. Now I knew for sure he didn't tell her.

At this point I noticed something that made me feel better. The package was actually going back to the person named on the resume. It must have been a packet being sent too him from the business he was applying to. I decided to move on feeling satisfied that I had done all I could.

Adjust your focus

Adjust your focus and you will be surprised how often you find kindness.

Happy St Patty's

Today I went out for corn beef sandwiches with my mom. We got to the bar that has one of the best sandwich's around and it was packed. Since it was so busy we decided to take them to go. We bought 5 sandwich's 2 for me and my father and 1 for my mom.

On the way back I saw a friend of mine driving his FedEx truck. We passed by and it dawned on me. I had extra sandwich's and could give him one. I asked my mom and she was all for it. I tracked him down at his next stop and gave him the food. He was pretty happy and very thankful. I firmly believe that because of this blog I had the proper focus to see this opportunity.

Some Inspiration

The purpose of our lives is to be happy.-Dalai Lama

Hand Full of Nickles

Today I was getting a coffee and noticed the guy behind me was counting change to get his coffee. He had asked the price of a medium ice coffee and when he was told the price he looked concerned at his hand full of nickles. I waited in the line in case he didn't have enough money. He finished counting and was 20 cents short. Just before I was able to offer up the rest of the money the girl behind the counter offered him the senior discount. He was by no means a senior and was very grateful for her kind act.

Avocado Lady

So I was on vacation in Mexico with a good friend of mine Jose Cardenas. Since he's a native I was able to see a different side of Mexico. We went to his families small towns and other places I would never have seen. Everywhere we went I witnessed kind acts. Just taking me around with him was a kind act in itself.

This story is about one outstanding kind act that happened on this trip. We went to a small restaurant in a town I cant remember the name of. After we got our food I innocently asked if they had any avocado. She apologized and said no. I was okay with this of course and went on with the meal. I looked up a few seconds later and saw the woman driving away on her scooter.

When she came back, she had an avocado for me. She had gone out specially for me just to get one avocado. This is kindness that I have never experienced before in the US or anywhere else for that matter. I was shocked and extremely grateful and of course left a large tip.

Submited by Janet Blythe

A couple of weeks ago, my friend, Karen Knowles and I were driving down a divided highway in the villages, fl in the morning and she  saw a dead cat on the road and saw that it had a pink tag on it. She asked me if I minded stopping to get the cat as it for sure belonged to someone.

I told her sure. So she made a legal U-Turn and pulled off the road. I stayed with her car and she proceeded to try to cross the heavily traveled road to get to the cat. Finally, she just put up her hand to stop the traffic and went to see the cat.

It did have a tag with a name and number on it. She picked up the still warm cat and brought it over. Karen called the number on the tag and a young girls voice message came on saying she was at school and couldn't take the msg. So Karen left a message that her cat was found. but decided not to tell her that it was dead.

We caringly wrapped the cat up in paper and placed it in a satchel Karen had in the back of the car and drove it back with us to Karen's house. It wasn't until after school let out that the young girl called her back and Karen had to tell her the bad news.

Karen went above and beyond this act of kindness by delivering the cat to the young owner so that she could bury it in her yard. The young girl was so grateful and though emotionally upset was glad that her cat was brought back to her to bury herself.

Thanks for the great submission Aunt Janet
Cory

Submited by Lois Anne

Yesterday I asked for guidance in helping a small dog suffering with Myasthenia Gravis and Megaesophagus. I was led to a Bichon Rescue group online with two contacts. Last night I received a four-page email from a woman by the name of Marilyn. The amazing response offers hope amidst tears of fear in how to help this little three-year-old dog, Snowball...even a gift of a chair for feeding her in an upright position.

Marilyn touched my life with her love and kindness. Thanks, Cory, for providing a place to share the story.

Thanks Lois Anne for the great story.

Cory

Some Inspiration

When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad, and that is my religion.
—Abraham Lincoln

Family in need

So the same girls that had the man give up his seat for them on the plane the other day payed it forward while on their trip. While they were taking a break from there memorial site tour, they noticed a family in need. The family had brought their dog on vacation with them and were not allowed to take it into the Lincoln memorial with them. The only solution they had was to pair up into groups and experience the site separated. The girls had overheard this dilemma and they offered to watch the dog while the family enjoyed themselves.

First of all I believe that the fact that they even noticed that the family was in need was a kind act. Secondly that they offered to watch the dog shows how much kindness they have in their hearts. It was a simple task and they had fun playing with the dog, but it still was an incredibly kind act. They were in tune with the kindness around them, which enabled them to lend a helping hand.

Pui on Left and Amy on Right

Thanks for the blog entry
Pui, Som, Eve, and Amy

Perception

For a long time I believed that the world was going cold. Through the process of self reflection and the careful observation of people over the semester, I realized it was actually me who was becoming cold. I guess cold is a harsh word maybe just less aware. I have been blindly walking about, unaware of the kindness going on around me. I am beginning to realize that focus is vital to how we see the world. Depending on whether your point of view is pessimistic or optimistic can greatly alter your perception. By thinking about performing kind acts I have become more aware of the kind acts being done by others and there effects. Its funny, even the people who perform these acts don't realize how profound of an effect they have on the recipient. Through my project I hope to better myself, becoming more aware of the kindness in the world. By documenting this journey I hope that others can benefit from my experience.

Tattoo Consigliere

Today's kind act was performed by my friend and tattoo consigliere Joe Vasella. He is extremely devoted to his tattoo lifestyle and has educated me so to set me in the right direction. That in itself is a kind act, but not the point of this story.

Joe recently had scheduled a tattoo appointment for today and later realized that he would not be able to go this weekend. I had joked about taking his spot but would never have really wanted to do that to him. I know how serious a deal it is to him and how much he had been looking forward to today. I would not want to take advantage of his situation.

The next day after I made the joke he told me that he wanted me to take his appointment. I was reluctant but he insisted saying it was his kind act to me. Because he put it that way I couldn't refuse. Today He came with me and I had some work done on my tattoo. I have to give him credit for where I am today, if it weren't for him who knows what kind of junk I may have ended up with. I of course have to give credit to John Moniz my tattoo artist, he truly is one of the greats.

Thanks Joe and John

Free Hugs

This video was a great inspiration to this project.

Incidental uplift

Sometimes small things really can make a big difference in someones day. At work last night a friend of mine came back from her FedEx pickup route feeling kinda down. This was odd because she is usually in a good mood. I could tell by her body posture and how easily she became agitated that shw wasn't feeling her self.

A short while later she came to me looking much happier. Someone had returned the map that she had lost. That kind act turned her attitude around 180 degrees. It turns out it was my friend Brian who had found the map and placed it in her work area while she was not there.

When she found out it was Brian she thanked him and told him how nice it was of him to bring it to her. He said your welcome and that could have been the end of it. He had no idea how much her day had changed from his small gesture.

I think because I have been focusing on kindness that I was more in-tune with her emotional change. I explained the whole situation to Brian letting him know that he made a big difference in her day. He was shocked and flattered that he could make a difference with such a comman act. His seemingly small kind act was able to rippled from him to her and myself.

Buddhist Quote

Neither fire nor wind, birth nor death can erase our good deeds

You can call me WALL-E

Today at school a friend of mine was asked to print some of her project out to be critiqued in class. The problem is that she had lost her school ID which we use to pay for printing. Because I have my ID and it has money on it, I offered to print it for her. It was only 50 cents and no bother to me. I told her not to worry about the money but she insisted and paid me for the print anyway. I also printed some pages for another friend last week. I guess its sort of become a thing I do because many people do not have money on there ID's and I generally do.

On a side note I watched the movie WALL-E recently and thought it was great.

Printer at school named WALL-E

Lost and Found

I recently lost my money clip that was given to me by my grampa Frank. I was pretty upset about this due to its sentimental value. I have had it for a number of years and had become quite attached to it. Before I talk about the kind act of today I have to tell a story about a prior kind act.

One day my grandfather and I were going to lunch at Subway. On the way there we took some turns I was unfamiliar with and it turned out we were heading in the entirely wrong direction. I was confused and had no idea where we were going. I didn't say anything but was very curious.

Eventually we pulled into the parking lot of a warehouse looking building. We walked into the building and it turned out to be a warehouse supply store. He had taken me there to buy me a money clip. At that point I remembered asking him if I could have a money clip that I had seen lying around his basement. Unfortunately he had already given it away but he had decided to buy me a new one instead.

So last Friday I realized that I had lost this money clip and was pretty upset about it. I looked for it anytime I had a chance over the weekend with no luck. Today on the way to work I decided to retrace my steps and try to find it again.

When I got to work I asked a friend of mine if he had seen it but he had not. No more than 15 minutes later he comes walking into the building holding the money clip in his hand. He had found it on the ground in the parking lot. If that wasn't weird enough, it had been dark when he found it. This may have been an incidental kind act but it was kind none the less.

Thanks Jeff

Awareness

While talking about the blog today I was made aware of some important ideas. One is the ripple effect and the other is the power of where we place our focus. The ripple effect is a very important aspect of this blog. Not only do kind acts affect the people directly involved, they can also have an effect on the people around them.

For example the earlier written about kind act of giving up the plane seat effected those two people, me, and any number of other people. How we perceive the world is also extremely important. Depending on where we place our focus will greatly effect how we see the world. If you are looking for bad things then you will find them, and consequently if you look for good you will find that as well.

I have always felt this way but realized its importance recently while talking about the blog and its effects. Just by thinking about being kinder you may become more aware of kind acts done by others. You may also be more aware of the chances to do your own kind acts. Focus is related to the ripple effect in a way because by being aware of these kind acts, people are effected that possibly have no relation to each other or a particular kind act. With a shift in focus you may become more aware of the kindness around you.

Thanks you for the inspiration Pui and Lois Anne!