Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Kindness for Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is getting a bad wrap these days. Joe Dellosa's opinion sums up what I've been hearing:
"... Valentine's Day [has] become a crassly artificial holiday that seeks to commodify our emotions and homogenize the way we express our love as a means to boost corporate profits, while fomenting awkward, hurtful feelings among couples and mopey misery among singles."  That's one way to look at it.

I like Valentine's Day because it's an opportunity to have some fun thinking of others. The tiniest remembrance -- a card, an email, a piece of candy, a single flower -- can brighten someones day.

The children's picture book Love and Kisses by Sarah Wilson, illustrated by Melissa Sweet, reminds me of the good that results from an act of kindness. When a little girl shares a kiss, it travels from friend to friend and eventually, surprisingly, comes back to her.

The Alexandria (MN) Kiwanis and Golden K Clubs are sponsoring their annual Random Act of Kindness Week, February 13 - 19, in an effort to bring awareness to the power of kindness.  Alexandria Kiwanis Club President Diann Drew says, "A simple gesture, a kind word, or a random act of kindness can go a long way in making a community a stronger, better place."

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