Dalai Lama: "Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible."
In contrast to the super competitive atmosphere of the Vancouver Winter Olympics, there's something else going on next week, February 15 to 21: it's
Random Acts of Kindness Week. Set up by
Gretchin Anderson of Undercover Kindness she's enlisted artists from across the globe to contribute illustrations to spread the feel good message of this grassroots social movement.
Heidi Burton is one such illustrator: the Brit has created free business-size cards especially for the week - which you can download for free then distribute to share your own random love.
Created with
Heidi's signature cheeky typographic style, the cards are available as a printable PDF of ten, each with their own tip or piece of advice for passing on
Random Acts Of Kindness: "These can be handed out to friends, strangers, left in public places, and hidden in secret places -- in an attempt to spread happiness," says
Heidi. "Sharing is caring!"
A phrase coined by peace activist Anne Herbert, the practise of "random kindness and senseless acts of beauty" has been taken on board by an underground movement who want to encourage proactive niceness. It's like being a grown up Brownie - doing a good turn every day - be selfless to encourage some happiness, wether organised, spontaneous, large, small anonymous or face to face.
Idealistic perhaps, but with it's focus on fun and creativity, groups such as London's The Kindness Offensive are proving it's a realistic way of life. From a simple smile to a stranger to large en-masse projects, being a good person costs nothing more than time - but the benefits are priceless.
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