It’s World Kindness Day today, Saturday, November 13.
After more than a year of pandemic living, maybe it seems like there is no time to be kind. The world, however, needs your kindness more than ever. People are still dying from Covid-19 and others are hungry and living in war-torn countries. And young people are in the streets claiming adults aren’t paying enough attention to the climate crisis.
There is time, and we’d need look no further than frontline workers still risking their lives every day to care for sick people, feed the hungry, teach our children and fight for our collective mental health. That’s kindness.
“Research finds that altruistic behavior activates the very same regions in the brain that are enlivened by rewards or pleasurable experiences.
“Remarkably, helping others also causes the brain to release hormones and protein-like molecules, known as neuropeptides, that lower stress and anxiety levels. Here’s the bottom line: doing good is good for you.”
Here are 25 ways to be kind to yourself, your family and community, and the planet today or any day.
Be kind to yourself
Make kindness a family value
9. Phone a relative. So many grandparents are missing their children and grandchildren, so why not call a relative? And if you miss someone, you can call them, too.
10. Heritage recipe hunt. Call the main chef in your family and ask her or him to walk you through a longtime family recipe. Then make it. If they claim you have to have a certain ingredient from the old country, ask for another recipe.
11. Talk to your children about race. Educating our children beyond their own identities will help them navigate the wider world in a thoughtful way. Start early with Ibram X. Kendi’s board book, “Antiracist Baby.” Middle school children may like the young adult version of “Born a Crime,” Comedy Central host Trevor Noah’s memoir of growing up in apartheid South Africa. Adults can dig into former Spelman College President Beverly Daniel Tatum’s classic, “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?”
Kindness in the community
13. Communicate your gratitude. Handwritten letters have become a sort of lost art, but there is nothing like receiving a handwritten note that shows care, intention and the reasons why someone loves and appreciates you. Think of the colleagues, friends and family members you cherish and why, then let them know. The simple things often mean the most.
14. Grocery shop for someone who needs it. You may have neighbors who are housebound or could use a helping hand; food banks are seeing more people in need.
15. Hand out snack bags. Gather shelf-stable snacks, bottles of water, socks and wipes into bags to hand out to people who need them (be sure to do so safely from 6 feet away).
16. Support a local restaurant. Order a takeout meal this week from a local joint that needs your business.
17. Vote and register people to vote. Yes, it’s true next year isn’t a presidential election year. But the midterms matter, whatever your political party.
Kindness for the Earth
19. Buy food from farmers. Shopping at your local farmers markets or direct from farmers supports local businesses growing good food.
20. Volunteer in a litter cleanup: Organize or join a community cleanup of a local beach or neighborhood park.
22. Turn off your lights. Just when you don’t need them. So many of us are working from home, and that’s quite the electric bill. Turning them off saves money and resources.
Three more things
23. Social distance. It’s OK to sometimes see people if you stay apart (6 feet at least). Lawn chairs spread around a firepit sounds good right about now.
24. Dress for the season and play outside. Whether you live where we’re heading into winter (so bundle up) or summer (shorts weather), experts say it’s good to get outside for our physical, mental and emotional health.
This story is updated from a piece that published in November 2020.
CNN’s Faye Chiu, Kristen Rogers, Katie Hunt, Sandee LaMotte, David Allan and Ryan Prior contributed to this story.