Yesterday was World Random Acts of Kindness Day, a day pretty significant for the GTG team. If you don’t know where to get involved or what to do, start by looking at the kindness all around you:
Global (18 February 2024)— Yesterday was World Random Acts of Kindness Day, and as always, it got the Good Things Guy team hoping even more kindness would be sparked in our country.
Humanity is little without kindness. When we are kind, we are choosing to be bigger than every reason life has shown us not to be that way. We are choosing someone else’s joy and, in turn, playing our small part in contributing to the joy of the world. Because joy and gratitude have chain-reaction effects. When someone makes your day, you’re more likely to consider doing the same for someone else. And you never know quite how far that domino effect can reach.
Well actually, we’ll give you a pretty good idea of how far it can reach. In case you didn’t know, Good Things Guy wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for a random act of kindness by none other than Brent Lindeque. Our platform’s genesis was his random act of kindness that very well could’ve just stayed another neknomination but instead went much, much further than a hangover:
My job at Good Things Guy is to tell the good news stories that happen all around us, all the time, writes GTG’s Ashleigh Nefdt. Sometimes, these stories are very big moments that have inspired and uplifted us as an entire country. Sometimes, they are little moments that mean just as much to the one or few they impact.
Like the rest of the Good Things Guy team, my eyes are always peeled for the good things, so I happen to take note of them wherever I go—even if they don’t end up becoming a fully-fledged story. For this RAK Day, I thought I’d share a few moments that stuck with me, and might inspire you:
A few Recent Random Acts of Kindness That Made My Heart Warm
- The lady who quietly left a bag of groceries where the homeless man sits near our neighbourhood. We smiled at each other because we both knew it would make his day.
- The begging man who gave me directions when I was very lost. I had nothing to give you at the time, but despite that, you went out of your way to help me.
- The young boys who helped a woman coming out of the gym when her car stopped randomly in the road. I have no idea if they knew what they were doing, but they were so eager just to help.
- The petrol attendant who helped with the petrol for the car before me (don’t worry, we paid it forward for him).
- The employees at my local corner shop who always, always offer to walk me to my next stop so I don’t feel unsafe if I’m walking alone.
- The ladies at another table at a painting cafe who went out of their way to tell everyone how nice their artworks were.
- The friend who paid for his group’s table in secret because he could see his one friend was stressed about money and didn’t want to single him out by paying just for him.
- The local helping a random tourist with their struggling Afrikaans pronunciation so they could impress their friends.
These are a few of so, so many. But making personal lists like these are so important, and I encourage you to start with one of your own. When you see good, you want to do good. And you might just be inspired to help someone with their petrol, pronunciation or a much-needed meal.
To quote an iconic line from a great film:
“If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaky feeling you’ll find that love actually is all around.”
And what is kindness if not the softest form of love?
by 