Have you perpetrated a Random Act of Kindness today? Well, what are you waiting for?! Going out of your way to be kind to someone today will not only cheer him or her up, but will make your day as well! An act of kindness is a two way street; it warms two hearts--both yours and the recipient of your kind act. Oftentimes one act of kindness will lead to another, and then another, until kindness itself gains momentum, creating an enormous wave of do-gooders. Should you feel inspired to set such a wave of warm fuzzies in motion, here are some ideas to help you begin:

1. Send a Flower Gift Basket to a Lonely Nursing Home Resident

Contact a local nursing home and explain that you would like to send gift baskets to residents who do not benefit from regular visitors. A nurse can offer you some guidance as to what a resident might appreciate receiving in a gift basket. A variety of flower, cookie, fruit, and even specialty gift baskets are available on-line, if you don't have the time or resources to put one together yourself. Also, to pull off a truly random act of kindness, you can send your gift basket anonymously. Imagine the surprise of receiving an anonymous gift basket full of flowers or tasty cookies! Be sure to follow up your random act of kindness by visiting the nursing home in person.

2. Help your Children Write Letters of Thanks to their Teachers

The days of showing appreciation for a teacher with a shiny apple are not long gone! Send your kids off to school with hand written thank you notes and bright apples for their overworked teachers. Such a simple act of kindness will go a long way; in brightening their teachers' days you will also be enhancing the classroom atmosphere for your children and their classmates. Your children will come home from school in high spirits, and that is bound to make your day as well!

3. Stop to Lend a Hand to Someone

Everyday we pass up opportunities to help someone in need. If you leave your house in the morning with the goal of helping someone out, you will be amazed at how many opportunities arise. Consider all that you encounter on your way to work: a car stranded on the side of the road; a woman desperate for change at the bus stop; an elderly man hanging about the coffee shop in hopes of something warm to drink...if you start looking for occasions to be a Good Samaritan, you will find them everywhere. And, when you do pull over to help out, or stop to share a cup of coffee, you will be making an important contribution to the sense community in the area where you live or work.

4. Smile and Say Hello

The simplest way to really improve your, and everyone else's, day is to sincerely smile at and greet people you interact with in your everyday affairs. Compliment a unique hairstyle; ask how the cashier is holding up on such a busy day. Make an effort to connect with all the people you encounter in a given day--a simple smile and kind word will have a profound effect!

Put these ideas into practice and you will soon find that everyone around you--including yourself!--is a little more cheerful; eventually random acts of kindness will begin to seem a little less random and become a part of your daily life!

About the Author

Allison Mueller is an advisor for 99GiftBaskets.US, Where you'll find a variety of day-brightening flower, fruit, and gift baskets!