newlink: /Dafna-Michaelson/Array ( [id] => 668 [title] => Being a part of kindness [alias] => [title_alias] => [introtext] =>

In the year and a half that has followed since my 2009 Journey across America (http://www.50in52journey.com) to find and share the stories of community problem solvers I have been blessed to work with the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation (RAK http://www.randomactsofkindness.org) to develop materials based upon the stories of my Journey which help create safe social and emotional learning spaces in the classroom using kindness as the vehicle. This past week my colleagues from RAK and I traveled to San Francisco, from our home base in Denver, CO, to attend TedxGoldenGateEd, a conference based upon the concept of compassion in our society and in the development of our youth. Compassion is a wonderful companion to kindness as one breeds the other.

The conference was fulfilling and enlightening and once again reinforced that the work we are doing with RAK will surely create an impact in our society and the type of world we would like to create for ourselves and for future generations, our children. With two hectic days of meetings and lectures we found ourselves on Sunday morning truly pumped up while physically exhausted. My colleague Marilyn, a lover of San Francisco and a lover of people, had done a little research before we left Denver and learned about this groundbreaking, community serving and indeed kindness teaching church called Glide Church San Francisco and we decided we would rise early Sunday morning, instead of our physical desire to sleep in, and see if we could not spread a little kindness of our own.

The next morning Marlyn looked down as she reported that had we wished to volunteer we should have registered in advance. So all was not lost we chose to attend the morning service and at least experience the message the church shares with the community. (As a Jewish woman I was also excited to experience my first church service!) We were greeted by Les, a warm and engaging volunteer who took our hands as we entered the building. Learning that we had about thirty minutes until the servce began we asked if we could request a volunteer assignment. You don’t get if you don’t ask! Les led us downstairs and we were told that if we came down after the service they would let us know if there were any spots available.

The moment the service ended (an entire additional blog would be required to share about the warm, musically exciting and community strong message given through this unique service experience) my colleagues and I exchanged hugs with the friendly congregants and rushed downstairs. In our good fortune we were assigned the task of making sandwiches for the bag lunches to be handed out later in the day.

A big container of meat and stacks of whole wheat bread awaited us while my colleagues and I got busy seeing how many sandwiches we could make- with love and attention to detail- in the shortest amount of time possible. We got it down to a loaf a minute at one point! Each sandwich made with the intention of creating a meal that we would feed to our own children.

The Glide Church community accepted us in, even though we were strangers who had come in off the streets, and gave us the opportunity to share in their daily work of kindness to the community. Surrounded by volunteers giving of themselves, we fit right in to the family and were treated as such.

The work of Glide is the true work of humanity. They teach us that it is our role as a community to care for the most vulnerable and as we give them strength to overcome what challenges them we too become stronger and more able to achieve our own daily goals and our overarching goal of leaving this world a stronger, more loving and kinder place than we found it.

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In the year and a half that has followed since my 2009 Journey across America (http://www.50in52journey.com) to find and share the stories of community problem solvers I have been blessed to work with the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation (RAK http://www.randomactsofkindness.org) to develop materials based upon the stories of my Journey which help create safe social and emotional learning spaces in the classroom using kindness as the vehicle. This past week my colleagues from RAK and I traveled to San Francisco, from our home base in Denver, CO, to attend TedxGoldenGateEd, a conference based upon the concept of compassion in our society and in the development of our youth. Compassion is a wonderful companion to kindness as one breeds the other.

The conference was fulfilling and enlightening and once again reinforced that the work we are doing with RAK will surely create an impact in our society and the type of world we would like to create for ourselves and for future generations, our children. With two hectic days of meetings and lectures we found ourselves on Sunday morning truly pumped up while physically exhausted. My colleague Marilyn, a lover of San Francisco and a lover of people, had done a little research before we left Denver and learned about this groundbreaking, community serving and indeed kindness teaching church called Glide Church San Francisco and we decided we would rise early Sunday morning, instead of our physical desire to sleep in, and see if we could not spread a little kindness of our own.

The next morning Marlyn looked down as she reported that had we wished to volunteer we should have registered in advance. So all was not lost we chose to attend the morning service and at least experience the message the church shares with the community. (As a Jewish woman I was also excited to experience my first church service!) We were greeted by Les, a warm and engaging volunteer who took our hands as we entered the building. Learning that we had about thirty minutes until the servce began we asked if we could request a volunteer assignment. You don’t get if you don’t ask! Les led us downstairs and we were told that if we came down after the service they would let us know if there were any spots available.

The moment the service ended (an entire additional blog would be required to share about the warm, musically exciting and community strong message given through this unique service experience) my colleagues and I exchanged hugs with the friendly congregants and rushed downstairs. In our good fortune we were assigned the task of making sandwiches for the bag lunches to be handed out later in the day.

A big container of meat and stacks of whole wheat bread awaited us while my colleagues and I got busy seeing how many sandwiches we could make- with love and attention to detail- in the shortest amount of time possible. We got it down to a loaf a minute at one point! Each sandwich made with the intention of creating a meal that we would feed to our own children.

The Glide Church community accepted us in, even though we were strangers who had come in off the streets, and gave us the opportunity to share in their daily work of kindness to the community. Surrounded by volunteers giving of themselves, we fit right in to the family and were treated as such.

The work of Glide is the true work of humanity. They teach us that it is our role as a community to care for the most vulnerable and as we give them strength to overcome what challenges them we too become stronger and more able to achieve our own daily goals and our overarching goal of leaving this world a stronger, more loving and kinder place than we found it.

[comments] => Comment (1) [avatar] => )

newlink: /Dafna-Michaelson/Array ( [id] => 368 [title] => Opening the door to a kinder world [alias] => [title_alias] => [introtext] =>

Opening the door for the person behind you seems like a natural gesture for many, but how often do you consider opening the car door for the person you are driving?
Growing up I read the fairy-tales where men opened the carriage doors for their princesses and laid down their capes in puddles and always walked on the traffic side of the street. As a secure, and pretty feminist oriented women, this was never something I looked for or felt was missing in any of the men I had dated. But when I started dating my fiance and he opened every door and gently moved around me when we walked in different traffic patterns I realized how empowering it felt to be treated like someone who deserved respect. I did not feel like I was being coddled or babied, I felt this deep respect.
My children watched my fiances pattern of opening doors and quickly it became a race to see who could open his door for him. To my children it was not a man's job to open the door. What they saw was the responsibility to show respect and caring for the other by opening their door.

It has been such fun to watch them grow and hopefully this simple lesson will help them through life to be kind and respectful.

Today's challenge of opening doors for as many people as you can has already garnered many "I do this all the time" and "I've even taught my children to do this" comments. As I see it, the more of us who can say we do this all the time the kinder and gentler our daily existences become. My children also enjoy holding the doors for the teachers and others they encounter on a daily basis. Again, they race to do it. My big challenge is to teach them to hold the door for each other! Kindness to your sibling, that's a true extreme challenge when you are 8 and 10!

Wishing you continued kindness and open doors.

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Opening the door for the person behind you seems like a natural gesture for many, but how often do you consider opening the car door for the person you are driving?
Growing up I read the fairy-tales where men opened the carriage doors for their princesses and laid down their capes in puddles and always walked on the traffic side of the street. As a secure, and pretty feminist oriented women, this was never something I looked for or felt was missing in any of the men I had dated. But when I started dating my fiance and he opened every door and gently moved around me when we walked in different traffic patterns I realized how empowering it felt to be treated like someone who deserved respect. I did not feel like I was being coddled or babied, I felt this deep respect.
My children watched my fiances pattern of opening doors and quickly it became a race to see who could open his door for him. To my children it was not a man's job to open the door. What they saw was the responsibility to show respect and caring for the other by opening their door.

It has been such fun to watch them grow and hopefully this simple lesson will help them through life to be kind and respectful.

Today's challenge of opening doors for as many people as you can has already garnered many "I do this all the time" and "I've even taught my children to do this" comments. As I see it, the more of us who can say we do this all the time the kinder and gentler our daily existences become. My children also enjoy holding the doors for the teachers and others they encounter on a daily basis. Again, they race to do it. My big challenge is to teach them to hold the door for each other! Kindness to your sibling, that's a true extreme challenge when you are 8 and 10!

Wishing you continued kindness and open doors.

[comments] => Comment (0) [avatar] => )

newlink: /Dafna-Michaelson/Array ( [id] => 367 [title] => The challenge of a smile...starting something contagious [alias] => [title_alias] => [introtext] =>

Day two of the Extreme Kindness Challenge for Random Acts of Kindness week greeted us with the challenge to smile at ten strangers. Ah, easy, too easy said some of the fans of the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation on our Facebook page on which I have the distinct pleasure of engaging with users.  I kind of chuckled to myself in agreement, I'm a big smiler and LOVE to smile at strangers, and began to think of a day full of conscious smiles to strangers.
As luck would have it I had a restless night. I am recovering from surgery and occasionally have bouts of pain. I woke up ready to go on time. I even got the kids up, dressed and sitting in front of breakfast before I walked out the door. Great start to a day of smiling! Half way to school I realized I left all of my materials for the days class at home. Now I was in a rush!! Turn around, fight traffic, grab materials, chastise boy for not eating his breakfast, kiss the kids and the fiance once more and off again to fight traffic. Made it to class, with a splitting headache, but ten minutes early!

After class on the run once more it occurred to me that I had made eye contact with not one person, and certainly had not shared a smile. I realized in that moment how hard it is sometimes to share a smile. I made a couple of attempts to catch the eyes of students on campus as I raced to my car late for a doctor appointment, but every student I passed was looking down and running. Are we really all in that much of a hurry???

As the day went on I was able to catch a few smiles to share from lunchers in the city but most of all became aware of how difficult it can be sometimes to share a smile and how much more important it is when your rushing along to take just a moment to breathe, lookup and share a smile. It will change the way your day goes and may just change the way the day goes for the person you smiled at and the rest of the people they meet throughout the day!

Here is my favorite smile poem which one of our Twitter followers reminded me of when he tweeted the following: @rlongw: @RAKFoundation The Kindness Challenge is a great idea. Hope it becomes infectious. Richard

Richard, this ones for you!

Smiling is contagious, you catch it like the flu,
When someone smiled at
me today, I started smiling too. I passed around the corner,
and someone saw my grin - When he smiled I realized, I'd passed it on to him.
I thought about that smile,
then I realized its worth,
A single smile, just like mine,
could travel round the earth. So, if you feel a smile begin,
don't leave it undetected -
Let's start an epidemic quick
and get the world infected ! ! !

Author Unknown

May your day, and indeed your life, be shared with smiles you pass to others. Let's change the world together with a smile.

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Day two of the Extreme Kindness Challenge for Random Acts of Kindness week greeted us with the challenge to smile at ten strangers. Ah, easy, too easy said some of the fans of the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation on our Facebook page on which I have the distinct pleasure of engaging with users.  I kind of chuckled to myself in agreement, I'm a big smiler and LOVE to smile at strangers, and began to think of a day full of conscious smiles to strangers.
As luck would have it I had a restless night. I am recovering from surgery and occasionally have bouts of pain. I woke up ready to go on time. I even got the kids up, dressed and sitting in front of breakfast before I walked out the door. Great start to a day of smiling! Half way to school I realized I left all of my materials for the days class at home. Now I was in a rush!! Turn around, fight traffic, grab materials, chastise boy for not eating his breakfast, kiss the kids and the fiance once more and off again to fight traffic. Made it to class, with a splitting headache, but ten minutes early!

After class on the run once more it occurred to me that I had made eye contact with not one person, and certainly had not shared a smile. I realized in that moment how hard it is sometimes to share a smile. I made a couple of attempts to catch the eyes of students on campus as I raced to my car late for a doctor appointment, but every student I passed was looking down and running. Are we really all in that much of a hurry???

As the day went on I was able to catch a few smiles to share from lunchers in the city but most of all became aware of how difficult it can be sometimes to share a smile and how much more important it is when your rushing along to take just a moment to breathe, lookup and share a smile. It will change the way your day goes and may just change the way the day goes for the person you smiled at and the rest of the people they meet throughout the day!

Here is my favorite smile poem which one of our Twitter followers reminded me of when he tweeted the following: @rlongw: @RAKFoundation The Kindness Challenge is a great idea. Hope it becomes infectious. Richard

Richard, this ones for you!

Smiling is contagious, you catch it like the flu,
When someone smiled at
me today, I started smiling too. I passed around the corner,
and someone saw my grin - When he smiled I realized, I'd passed it on to him.
I thought about that smile,
then I realized its worth,
A single smile, just like mine,
could travel round the earth. So, if you feel a smile begin,
don't leave it undetected -
Let's start an epidemic quick
and get the world infected ! ! !

Author Unknown

May your day, and indeed your life, be shared with smiles you pass to others. Let's change the world together with a smile.

[comments] => Comment (0) [avatar] => )

newlink: /Dafna-Michaelson/Array ( [id] => 360 [title] => Let's be Extreme (ly kind that is!) [alias] => [title_alias] => [introtext] =>

Kindness is something most of us do without thinking. We hold the door for the person behind us. We say thank you or have a nice day to the delivery man or clerk. We hug our children, our friends, sometimes even your colleagues. We send a nice tweet about a friend or someone who has moved us. We post on Facebook the accomplishments of theirs. Whether we notice it or not kindness, and random acts thereof, are a part of the way we live, like breathing. Imagine, if you will, being conscious of your kind acts. How might it change your day, your week, your life if some of your kind acts become intentional. I’ve been reading many books lately that touch on how kind acts like gift giving, attention giving, listening have elevated people’s businesses, changed the dynamics on the school playground, made life better at home.

This is the day to become conscious about your kindness and see how it impacts your life. Today is the official kickoff of Random Acts of Kindness Week, a global movement.                  I have committed to join my friends at The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation to participate in the program we created to share with the world, the Extreme Kindness Challenge http://www.randomactsofkindness.org/extreme-kindness-challenge.html. Each day a new Kindness challenge will be posed. They are doable on your own schedule and do not require a budget. We want to know how the simple act of focusing on your kindness and joining a global kindness movement impacts your day.

I will be sharing the stories gathered from the Random Acts of Kindness website, Facebook page and Twitter accounts to highlight the good going on around our world. Won’t you join me and allow me the pleasure of writing about you!

I thank you for your everyday kindness and can’t wait to have you join me in this week long challenge. Enjoy this day dedicated to the celebration of love and this week dedicated to the conscious celebration of kindness.

Onward and Upward together,
Your friend in kindness.

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Kindness is something most of us do without thinking. We hold the door for the person behind us. We say thank you or have a nice day to the delivery man or clerk. We hug our children, our friends, sometimes even your colleagues. We send a nice tweet about a friend or someone who has moved us. We post on Facebook the accomplishments of theirs. Whether we notice it or not kindness, and random acts thereof, are a part of the way we live, like breathing. Imagine, if you will, being conscious of your kind acts. How might it change your day, your week, your life if some of your kind acts become intentional. I’ve been reading many books lately that touch on how kind acts like gift giving, attention giving, listening have elevated people’s businesses, changed the dynamics on the school playground, made life better at home.

This is the day to become conscious about your kindness and see how it impacts your life. Today is the official kickoff of Random Acts of Kindness Week, a global movement.                  I have committed to join my friends at The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation to participate in the program we created to share with the world, the Extreme Kindness Challenge http://www.randomactsofkindness.org/extreme-kindness-challenge.html. Each day a new Kindness challenge will be posed. They are doable on your own schedule and do not require a budget. We want to know how the simple act of focusing on your kindness and joining a global kindness movement impacts your day.

I will be sharing the stories gathered from the Random Acts of Kindness website, Facebook page and Twitter accounts to highlight the good going on around our world. Won’t you join me and allow me the pleasure of writing about you!

I thank you for your everyday kindness and can’t wait to have you join me in this week long challenge. Enjoy this day dedicated to the celebration of love and this week dedicated to the conscious celebration of kindness.

Onward and Upward together,
Your friend in kindness.

[comments] => Comment (2) [avatar] => )

newlink: /Dafna-Michaelson/Array ( [id] => 252 [title] => What does a random act of kindness feel like? [alias] => [title_alias] => [introtext] =>

I really thought I knew the answer to that question. After all, I think about the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation day and night as I dream up new materials for my classroom to community lesson plans. Yet, I did not realize until today, I have not done a truly random act of kindness that has stuck out in my head. Acts of kindness, absolutely! I try to make acts of kindness a daily part of my existence. But random?

This afternoon I ended my day early. My 3:30 appointment cancelled and it was just as well. This past Tuesday my beloved grandmother left our earth and I am across the country from my family mourning alone. I was all right with having a few unstructured hours to myself. I was thirsty and thinking about a nice cold diet soda. Then my inner voice took hold of me and said “look over there, it’s a Starbucks, how about a nice Venti Iced Mocha.” In my current state I thought nothing of the extra 1000 calories and headed for the drive-thru window.

As I waited for my drink I was showing my barista the cool iphone app which calculates how many drinks I need to buy before I get my next free drink. “I only need three more drinks...” I began to lament. Then it struck me. I should buy the drinks for the car behind me. Now let’s be clear, I read the daily recommendations from the Random Acts of Kindness Facebook page and I know buying someone’s coffee is nothing new, but I had never done it. The barista told me the car behind me had ordered three drinks, the magic number! I laughed as my heart began to pound and I said let’s go for it!

He took my card and rang up their drinks. I could not wipe the smile off my face. I peeked back at the car and it looked like a woman driving, a man next to her and a young girl in the back seat. All the way home I imagined how they must have felt when they got to the window and were told their drinks had already been paid for. I hope it made their day. I hope the child noticed and will forever have a good feeling because a stranger, on the spur of the moment, decided to do something kind.

It’s been a rough couple of weeks for me and this random act was just what the doctor ordered. It is a high unlike any other. Try it for yourself. Tell me how it feels. :-)

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I really thought I knew the answer to that question. After all, I think about the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation day and night as I dream up new materials for my classroom to community lesson plans. Yet, I did not realize until today, I have not done a truly random act of kindness that has stuck out in my head. Acts of kindness, absolutely! I try to make acts of kindness a daily part of my existence. But random?

This afternoon I ended my day early. My 3:30 appointment cancelled and it was just as well. This past Tuesday my beloved grandmother left our earth and I am across the country from my family mourning alone. I was all right with having a few unstructured hours to myself. I was thirsty and thinking about a nice cold diet soda. Then my inner voice took hold of me and said “look over there, it’s a Starbucks, how about a nice Venti Iced Mocha.” In my current state I thought nothing of the extra 1000 calories and headed for the drive-thru window.

As I waited for my drink I was showing my barista the cool iphone app which calculates how many drinks I need to buy before I get my next free drink. “I only need three more drinks...” I began to lament. Then it struck me. I should buy the drinks for the car behind me. Now let’s be clear, I read the daily recommendations from the Random Acts of Kindness Facebook page and I know buying someone’s coffee is nothing new, but I had never done it. The barista told me the car behind me had ordered three drinks, the magic number! I laughed as my heart began to pound and I said let’s go for it!

He took my card and rang up their drinks. I could not wipe the smile off my face. I peeked back at the car and it looked like a woman driving, a man next to her and a young girl in the back seat. All the way home I imagined how they must have felt when they got to the window and were told their drinks had already been paid for. I hope it made their day. I hope the child noticed and will forever have a good feeling because a stranger, on the spur of the moment, decided to do something kind.

It’s been a rough couple of weeks for me and this random act was just what the doctor ordered. It is a high unlike any other. Try it for yourself. Tell me how it feels. :-)

[comments] => Comment (1) [avatar] => )

newlink: /Dafna-Michaelson/Array ( [id] => 249 [title] => The sights and sounds of kindness [alias] => [title_alias] => [introtext] =>

Does kindness have a look? What about a kind sound? These are the questions I addressed with close to 10% of the 650 students at Shaffer Elementary School. When the Kindness and Compassion club opened at Shaffer the administration was both pleased and amazed at the volume of students who signed up for this voluntary after school program.
Ranging in age from kindergartners to 5th graders the students were articulate about the mission of their club and as one student said “their work making the school and the world a better kinder place.”

As the students enter the second half of the school year they will brainstorm new activities they can add to their resume of kindness and compassion building work they have done up to this point. When I suggested to them the idea that kindness has a sound and a look the kids did not miss a beat. Here’s what it looked like:

Me: What does kindness look like?
(65 hands pop up in the air many wiggling and jumping)

Student: A hug Student: A kid helping another kid
Student: A kid on the playground playing with someone who has no one to play with
Student: A smile

Me: What does kindness sound like?
(65 hands dancing in the air accompanied by “ooh-ooh’s”)

Student: A nice word
Student: “Please and Thank yous”
Student: Story time
Student: A kiss

Having worked together for many months the students had done many act of kindness and compassion for community groups and soldiers. Each of them had embodied a kindness that gives them the language to share how to be kind with others. With recent articles of the kindness hormone (oxytocin) and the science proving that kindness can be taught these students are set to be the ambassador to creating a kinder world. Just like they told me!

We created banners to hang in the school and share with the other students at Shaffer. Try it in your school or community group. A little mind jiggle and you too will be able to see and hear kindness all around you.

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Does kindness have a look? What about a kind sound? These are the questions I addressed with close to 10% of the 650 students at Shaffer Elementary School. When the Kindness and Compassion club opened at Shaffer the administration was both pleased and amazed at the volume of students who signed up for this voluntary after school program.
Ranging in age from kindergartners to 5th graders the students were articulate about the mission of their club and as one student said “their work making the school and the world a better kinder place.”

As the students enter the second half of the school year they will brainstorm new activities they can add to their resume of kindness and compassion building work they have done up to this point. When I suggested to them the idea that kindness has a sound and a look the kids did not miss a beat. Here’s what it looked like:

Me: What does kindness look like?
(65 hands pop up in the air many wiggling and jumping)

Student: A hug Student: A kid helping another kid
Student: A kid on the playground playing with someone who has no one to play with
Student: A smile

Me: What does kindness sound like?
(65 hands dancing in the air accompanied by “ooh-ooh’s”)

Student: A nice word
Student: “Please and Thank yous”
Student: Story time
Student: A kiss

Having worked together for many months the students had done many act of kindness and compassion for community groups and soldiers. Each of them had embodied a kindness that gives them the language to share how to be kind with others. With recent articles of the kindness hormone (oxytocin) and the science proving that kindness can be taught these students are set to be the ambassador to creating a kinder world. Just like they told me!

We created banners to hang in the school and share with the other students at Shaffer. Try it in your school or community group. A little mind jiggle and you too will be able to see and hear kindness all around you.

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newlink: /Dafna-Michaelson/Array ( [id] => 218 [title] => Being the recipient of kindness [alias] => [title_alias] => [introtext] =>

For two years now I have focused my life’s work on finding people who are solving problems in their community. Looking critically at the majority of people I have met I can easily say that what motivated them was helping or doing kindness for another. I have been fortunate enough to travel the country, and indeed several countries around the world, to share the stories of these individuals. When I speak, in many cases, I will ask members of the audience to share what they do for their communities.
I will never forget once, while speaking close to home, I addressed the Colorado Feminists Luncheon. A wonderful group of women, many in their 70’s and a handful in their 80’s, the women began rattling off the myriad of community involvements they were currently engaged in. One woman stood up and appeared to hang her head. She declared “I am not currently engaged in any community work as I am spending time making meals for my neighbor who is battling breast cancer.”

As I wrapped up my talk I circled back to this woman. I told her that I found it odd that she felt she was not doing anything for community. How could she discount the work she was doing for this woman who otherwise would have to labor instead of concentrating on healing. This woman’s kindness, I told the group, is the basis of why any of us do anything for community. No one of us wants to be left alone to handle any tragedy or struggle, least of all a medical crisis.

At the time I had no idea how close to home this woman’s kindness would hit. I had found a lump of my own several weeks before this engagement. I had at that point not known whether I was looking down the barrel of my own breast cancer. After many tests and doctors consultations my family and I decided upon an aggressive treatment path and I registered for a bilateral mastectomy shortly after my birthday.
The kindness that was bestowed upon my family in the form of meals was overwhelming. For a solid month my fiance was able to focus his energies on making me well and each evening as we sat down to dinner and enjoyed the delicacies brought to us by a friend or colleague, our children would tell us how grateful they are for a community who cares so much. Even at 8, 9 and 15 years old the kids completely understood the value of the gift of such a kindness.

I hope to not be in the need category again, I much prefer to give kindness and share the stories of others. Yet, for my children, this experience made it very real and I know that they will jump on the opportunity to help another in the forms of meals or whatever a member of the human community needs to make their lives a little better.

Wishing you a New Year filled with the opportunities to give kindness.

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For two years now I have focused my life’s work on finding people who are solving problems in their community. Looking critically at the majority of people I have met I can easily say that what motivated them was helping or doing kindness for another. I have been fortunate enough to travel the country, and indeed several countries around the world, to share the stories of these individuals. When I speak, in many cases, I will ask members of the audience to share what they do for their communities.
I will never forget once, while speaking close to home, I addressed the Colorado Feminists Luncheon. A wonderful group of women, many in their 70’s and a handful in their 80’s, the women began rattling off the myriad of community involvements they were currently engaged in. One woman stood up and appeared to hang her head. She declared “I am not currently engaged in any community work as I am spending time making meals for my neighbor who is battling breast cancer.”

As I wrapped up my talk I circled back to this woman. I told her that I found it odd that she felt she was not doing anything for community. How could she discount the work she was doing for this woman who otherwise would have to labor instead of concentrating on healing. This woman’s kindness, I told the group, is the basis of why any of us do anything for community. No one of us wants to be left alone to handle any tragedy or struggle, least of all a medical crisis.

At the time I had no idea how close to home this woman’s kindness would hit. I had found a lump of my own several weeks before this engagement. I had at that point not known whether I was looking down the barrel of my own breast cancer. After many tests and doctors consultations my family and I decided upon an aggressive treatment path and I registered for a bilateral mastectomy shortly after my birthday.
The kindness that was bestowed upon my family in the form of meals was overwhelming. For a solid month my fiance was able to focus his energies on making me well and each evening as we sat down to dinner and enjoyed the delicacies brought to us by a friend or colleague, our children would tell us how grateful they are for a community who cares so much. Even at 8, 9 and 15 years old the kids completely understood the value of the gift of such a kindness.

I hope to not be in the need category again, I much prefer to give kindness and share the stories of others. Yet, for my children, this experience made it very real and I know that they will jump on the opportunity to help another in the forms of meals or whatever a member of the human community needs to make their lives a little better.

Wishing you a New Year filled with the opportunities to give kindness.

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newlink: /Dafna-Michaelson/Array ( [id] => 175 [title] => It’s All About Raising Your Hand [alias] => [title_alias] => [introtext] =>

In 2008, a few months before I set out to visit all 50 states in search of “the real people solving community problems,” people would ask me all the time where I was going to find these people and what did I think they would be doing? Several of the people I met with for advice prior to the 50 in 52 Journey were certain that I could only find these people by going through the largest nonprofit organizations in each major city. But I did not want to go through organizations. I was looking for community problem solvers as identified by the community.

In my heart of hearts I knew that true problem solving begins at home, in our own communities, on our blocks and in our homes.

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In 2008, a few months before I set out to visit all 50 states in search of “the real people solving community problems,” people would ask me all the time where I was going to find these people and what did I think they would be doing? Several of the people I met with for advice prior to the 50 in 52 Journey were certain that I could only find these people by going through the largest nonprofit organizations in each major city. But I did not want to go through organizations. I was looking for community problem solvers as identified by the community.

In my heart of hearts I knew that true problem solving begins at home, in our own communities, on our blocks and in our homes.

[comments] => Comment (1) [avatar] => )