My most recent random act of beauty happened not too long ago in Indonesia. I was walking down the street when I saw a mother and her young child, about 4 years old or so, sitting on the sidewalk. They were disheveled and barefoot and unlike the other women who dotted the sidewalk, I noticed that this woman was not asking for money. She was just sitting there, looking weak and dazed. As I studied her and her child, something else caught my eye: there were several drawings around them on the sidewalk, indecipherable, fascinating little designs made in some crude, black medium. I asked the woman who had drawn them, and she pointed to her tiny child. My immediate thought was to head to an art store I knew of not too far away and there, for less than a dollar, I purchased a box of 20 pieces of colourful chalk. I returned to the mother and child, drew a pink chalk heart on the sidewalk in front of the little boy, placed the box of chalk at his feet and continued on my way. ⁣
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Later that day I passed by the area again and they were gone. There were no chalk drawings on the sidewalk and I wondered if I had stupidly given them chalk when I could have offered them something that would have benefitted them far more.⁣
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But when I happened by the same spot again the next day, the area where they sat was filled with the most detailed and symmetrical designs. I was in awe that this young child could express himself in such an intricate way. Amongst the linear designs I also saw drawings of round, soft flowers and when I asked her who had drawn those, she again pointed to her young son. I gushed excitedly as I applauded his talent and he shyly buried his face in his mother’s arm. I bought some food for them and left. I searched for them every day after that for the remainder of my stay but I didn’t see the boy, his mother, or any more of his drawings again. ⁣
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I wonder how many great talents, geniuses and potential innovators there are in this world, whose potential never has the chance to bloom due to where they were born and the poverty they were born in to. Are you making the most of your blessings? #500randomactsofbeauty

In the frigid Toronto winter of 2013, I purchased a blanket with the intention of donating it to someone living on the streets. Before finding an individual to give it to, my friends and I rode the trains several times over the course of a couple of weeks, approaching as many strangers as possible, telling them what we were doing, and inviting them to write positive, encouraging messages on it. On certain days it was so cold that it took a lot to convince myself to make the journey from where I was living in Mississauga, which meant walking twenty minutes to the bus stop, waiting for the bus in the cold, and then taking the train down from Kipling, all while lugging this hefty duvet. And then there was the awkwardness of approaching strangers and making sure to keep our energy up despite the rejection we often faced. But I’m so glad I saw it through, and so grateful for my friends like @freemase@alimamaaand@assayaheals who helped out, because this ended up being one of my favorite random acts of beauty. What made it so amazing to me was that not only did we feel really good doing it, but every stranger who agreed to be part of it was clearly touched by the idea as well, so a lot of good vibes were spread during this process. At the end of each day my friends and I were just about floating with joy. By the time we donated the blanket there was no more room to write on it and not only was it covered with positive words but it was infused with a lot of positive energy as well.⁣
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In hindsight I definitely should have called this random act of beauty The Comforter

It was 2011 and I’d decided to start a humanitarian street art project called 500 random acts of beauty to add a bit of unexpected love and kindness to everyday life. I worked on the first several acts without telling anyone in my life what I was doing. For the 3rd random act of beauty, I went to the library and found a book about being bullied at school. I wrote an anonymous letter of encouragement to a child who might choose that book because they were being bullied and stuck the letter inside the pages of the book, hoping they’d come across it. For the 2nd random act of beauty I wrote a poem and hung it on the bare walls of a long corridor in an office building, and for the 5th random act of beauty I took some of my photographic prints and hung them inside the stalls of a public bathroom―both of these acts were executed to add art to mundane and unexpected places. ⁣
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The 7th random act of beauty was the first one that required me to actually approach a stranger, which was definitely a step out of my comfort zone. I wrote a thank you note to a custodian at a nearby strip mall that said, “You’re doing a great job. Lunch is on me today,” and stuck a $20 bill inside of it. I asked my sister to film from a distance and after several moments of hesitation I finally gathered the courage to approach her. I went up to her, smiled as I handed her the envelope, and then walked away as quickly as I could. When I watched the footage my sister had captured, I saw the woman open the card, read it, and then wipe tears from her eyes.⁣
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After I’d completed a handful of these acts, I decided to share the project online, with the hope of inspiring others to do their own random acts of kindness. Right before I posted it I felt a bit of anxiety, second guessing myself and thinking that maybe people would find this idea stupid. I went ahead with my decision to post it despite the fear I was feeling, and in the split second before I pressed “post” to share the announcement on Facebook, I heard a voice of guidance, of knowing, speak to me for the first time in my life. It said, “ , .” I pressed the button.⁣
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Pictured here is the 4th random act of beauty which is admittedly rudimentary in appearance, part of why I felt shy about the project, but even in this moment years later, I can say that if I came across something like this as I was about to cross the street, it would bring a smile to my face. A reminder that things don’t have to be perfect or cost a lot of money in order to make an impact. ⁣

The Idea That Changed My Life || My awakening inspired within me the longing to bring hope to people’s lives, but I didn’t know exactly how I was going to do it until one evening a short while later. I was hanging out with @tungztwisted when he put on the movie Exit Through The Gift Shop, Banksy’s Academy Award nominated documentary. I knew very little about Banksy at the time and I rarely watch movies, so I was unenthused about it and my mind began to drift before he even pressed play. But in the opening credits alone, these lyrics by @RichardHawley hit me like a bolt of lightning:⁣
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“Those people, they got nothing in their souls⁣
And they make our TVs blind us⁣
From our vision and our goals⁣
Oh, the trigger of time it tricks you⁣
So you have no way to grow⁣
But do you know that tonight the streets are ours⁣
These lights in our hearts they tell no lies.”⁣
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All of a sudden this film had my full attention. I’d never heard music like that, music with a message trying to awaken people. But then again my awakening had only recently happened and my eyes and ears were newly opened to receiving messages like these. As the movie progressed, I watched as these street artists used their art to create powerful messages of rebellion, subversion and disruption. That’s when it clicked for me and I sat straight up. Sean noticed this and intuitively, brilliantly, handed me a notepad and a pencil and said, “Write.” And I did. I couldn’t stop the ideas from flowing and couldn’t seem to write them all down fast enough.⁣

Finally it all came together: I was going to create what I called a ‘humanitarian street art project’, using my art to anonymously create messages that would inspire hope. I knew that so many people in this world were hurting and I wanted to do something to let them know someone cared about them; I had learned firsthand that there was something so powerful about being on the receiving end of unexpected kindness, specifically when it was coming from a stranger. The project came to be called ‘500 random acts of beauty: the pursuit of positive change through beautiful thinking’ and I committed to dreaming up and executing 500 acts that would add positivity to the world, even if it took me my whole life to do them. In fact I hoped it would take me my whole life, because that meant it would keep my mind in a state of looking for opportunities to do so―a state of beautiful thinking. Most of all what I hoped was that it would create a ripple effect, that when someone was on the receiving end of one of these acts of kindness, they would be inspired to do the same for someone else, the same way woman at the train station in New York had done for me. ⁣
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It was this idea and the decision to act on it that completely altered the course of my life.⁣

My Spiritual Awakening || David and I parted ways after a few years. He did his best to love me during a time where I was not in a good state and took a lot more than I gave, but due to actions on both our parts we never had a solid foundation of trust and security. I continued to feel a deep sense of sadness within me once I was on my own and for a while it seemed like the tears would never stop.

In 2011 I was having a particularly emotional night when, as I lay in bed, a memory crossed my mind. During the trip to New York when I met Kanye, I was running around the city with a well known and highly successful photographer. We were on our way to an event one evening when he asked me to cover the cab fare because he didn’t have cash on him. The fare came to $20 which was all I had and which I needed to get back home, but I didn’t want to make a big deal out of such a small amount of money. I said nothing and nervously handed the driver the last of my cash. At the end of the night, around 3 am, I found myself standing in the rain outside of a train station, my lack of loose change making its gates now entirely impenetrable. I didn’t want to ask a stranger for money; I’d had so many people approach me in the past for change and I’d always labelled them as scammers, and here I was about to do the same. I feared how people would respond if I asked them for change, but I had no choice. Asking for help was the only way to get home.

Tears in my eyes, face flushed with embarrassment, I approached a woman about my age. I told her I didn’t have money to get on the train and said that anything she could give would be appreciated. I was expecting a negative response and at best maybe a pitiful 25 cents, so her answer caught me by complete surprise.

“Of course, sweetie!” she responded, with what was in that moment the most loving voice in all of existence, and without hesitation she gave me the full fare. I was stunned. I had braced myself for judgment and rejection and this woman, this perfect stranger, gave me kindness and compassion instead. On any given day this may have been a small, forgettable exchange, but at the time I was still in LO’s abusive clutches and his treatment of me heavily affected my view of the world. What may have seemed like a tiny act of kindness was actually something massive; it helped to restore my faith in humanity.

So as I reflected on this memory in my room that night, I lifted my head up from my tear stained pillow and went to the window. I looked at all the darkened houses and wondered, “How many other people are awake right now, suffering in silence like I am?” I decided then that I was going to do something to offer them the hope, comfort and reassurance that I myself was longing for. I wanted to do something to help restore people’s faith in humanity. That was when my mindset shifted from “I” to “we” and I can pinpoint that as the precise moment of my spiritual awakening.

I am forever grateful to that stranger for giving me the change I needed, and for helping me make my way home.

Challenge 142: Lifebook Magazine-Issue #67-“Random”: Random Acts of Kindness

I really loved this challenge! So many possibilities with this one! I chose to create two editorial spot illustrations for the “Random Acts of Kindness” article.

Chicago has been dealing with a month of pretty much constant snowfall. I’ve had to shovel my car out THREE TIMES this month alone! One thing I’ve really enjoyed about this unpredictable time is the opportunity I’ve had to meet and interact with some of my neighbors. I’ve had so many lovely conversations while dealing with some pretty unfortunate circumstances. One instance, I was out shoveling and went back in my apartment to cancel the studio hour I had booked at my local printmaking co-op (I was not about to drive on those icy roads), and by the time I came back out, two of my neighbors had already scraped most of the snow and ice off of the top of my car! It was so unexpected and so kind that my heart felt so incredibly full.

So when this prompt came up about random acts of kindness, that moment came right to mind! I think it’s so important to focus on little ways we can help each other out. Another kind act I’ve always been a fan of is the classic pay-for-a-stranger’s-coffee move. I’ve done it a few times, and it’s happened to me a few times as well! I like to think it’s good coffee karma!

This challenge helped me think a little bit harder about all the ways we help each other as a society. I think that’s something we could all focus on a bit more these days.

-Sarah

We asked you to tell us about your random acts of kindness. These were our favorites.

Boston artist Bren Bataclan often gives away his paintings with a note asking people to “smile at random people more often.” He gave us two to give to PRI listeners and readers. Bataclan selected two people who commented on PRI The World’s Facebook page about the random acts of kindness they did for others or someone had done for them.

So, who were the two lucky people that will receive one of Bataclan’s paintings and what were their “random acts of kindness”? The first winner is John Stewart from Salt Lake City, Utah, who works as a professional Santa, a job that can often be thankless and taxing. His goodwill extended beyond the North Pole when this happened:

“One year, I finished up a private party at a family’s house. It was a lot of fun, and at the end, the parents gave me a Christmas card containing my fee. Once I got home, I opened the card and discovered that they had paid double my normal rate. It was very nice of them. Later, I went to dinner with a friend at a restaurant. She was asking me about being Santa, and I told her I always loved when the older kids at the party would not let on to the younger kids. They played along and made it fun for everyone. The waitress overheard and told us that she had to tell her young son the truth about Santa this year. I asked her why, and she said that because she had just finished a round of chemotherapy for cancer, and this was her first day back to work, and Christmas was not going to be like it had been in previous years. Like a shot of lightning, the universe was giving me a message. I gave the waitress the extra money that the family had given me. I told her Santa always made sure kids had a good Christmas.”

The other “random acts of kindness” winner is Ruth Deakins. She befriended a homeless man in San Diego and posted this:

“I’ve gotten to know him over the years. While talking to him recently, he told me he was married at one time and has a grown son and a daughter who died in her 30’s. I asked him if he had worked during his life. He said he had for many years and once owned a home. He’s now 70 years old. I asked if he would qualify for social security. He said he does, but he didn’t know how to apply. He knows his social security #, but doesn’t remember much else about his life; i.e., addresses where he once lived, etc. I think he may be in early dementia. He’s all alone now and has no connection with his family. I took him to the social security office and spent the day there in the lines. At being 70 years old, turns out that he could collect $1,600/month in social security benefits. That would be life-changing for him, but he has no documentation that he is a legal citizen in the U.S.; therefore, he will not receive the money. He said he came here from Mexico when he was four years old, but has no documentation that he can remember obtaining. He may be a legal citizen, but he just doesn’t know.”

Listen to the full story at pri.org.

Life Vest Inside - Kindness Boomerang - “One Day”

Uploaded on Aug 29, 2011

ॐ SHOP  ॐ