Happy October, friends! Hope your week is off to a fantastic start! I woke up with a little sore throat this morning, so I’ve been trying to be extra gentle to myself today and {fingers crossed} keep from getting sick. I’ve been downing green tea like nobody’s business! 🙂

The Week 38 Kindness Challenge was to let someone go ahead of you in line. I let people go ahead of me in the security line at the airport last week on my trip home from visiting Holly in Nashville, and I also let people go in front of me in line at the grocery store and the drugstore. On my trip into the city on Sunday, I let people go ahead of me onto the BART train … it meant I didn’t get a seat, but I enjoyed standing and looking out the window at the beautiful autumn leaves as the train zoomed along. I also saw a number of young men get up to offer their seats to elderly passengers, mothers and children. It warmed my heart!

This past week’s kindness challenge made me think of a sermon I heard over the summer about how moments of grace can happen in the midst of the most mundane daily activities. Our pastor spoke about a mantra that she repeats while washing the dishes or doing laundry or, yes, waiting in line at the grocery store: “Even here.” Even here, even now, even in the most chaotic and hectic days, goodness and grace and kindness can blossom. I certainly felt filled with happiness and connection this week every time I let someone go ahead of me in line. It transformed a chore into an opportunity for grace. Where can you find opportunities for grace in the margins of your daily life?

The Week 39 Kindness Challenge comes from my wonderful blogger friend Danica at It’s Progression: Write a letter {or an email or make a phone call} to a former teacher of yours, thanking them for the influence they had on you. This would also be a wonderful activity to do with children. If you are a teacher, turn it around and write a letter to a former student of yours who was really special. Teachers are such an invaluable, tireless and huge-hearted part of society and in my opinion they are not thanked nearly enough for all they do! Spread the kindness and gratitude this week!

As always, blog about your experiences and include your links in the comments section below, or feel free to send me an email at dallaswoodburn <AT> gmail <DOT> com.

Have a wonderful week!
– Dallas

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year of kindness archives:
– week 1 challenge: donate items to those in need
– week 2 challenge: leave quarters & note at laundry machine
– week 3 challenge: write & send a kind handwritten note
– week 4 challenge: give hot chocolate to someone outside in the cold
– week 5 challenge: do something kind for a neighbor
– week 6 challenge: deliver valentines to a nursing home
– week 7 challenge: donate to a food pantry
– week 8 challenge: donate toiletries to a shelter
– week 9 challenge: post a kind note in a public place
– week 10 challenge: do something kind for a child
– week 11 challenge: thank someone in a genuine & meaningful way
– week 12 challenge: deliver baked goods to a fire station
– week 13 challenge: give someone flowers
– week 14 challenge: donate books
– week 15 challenge: reach out and spend time with people
– week 16 challenge: smile at everyone you meet
– week 17 challenge: pick up litter/trash
– week 18 challenge: write a kind note to a mom figure in your life
– week 19 challenge: leave an extra-generous tip
– week 20 challenge: donate blood/join bone marrow registry
– week 21 challenge: visit a cemetery and pay respect
– week 22 challenge: practice a little patience
– week 23 challenge: call 3 loved ones on the phone
– week 24 challenge: do something kind for a senior citizen
– week 25 challenge: pay for someone’s public transportation
– week 26 challenge: volunteer at a food pantry or soup kitchen
– week 27 challenge: send a care package to someone in the military
– week 28 challenge: give at least one compliment every day
– week 29 challenge: do a favor for someone else
– week 30 challenge: scatter lucky pennies around a playground
– week 31 challenge: mail an empowering postcard
– week 32 challenge: plant something
– week 33 challenge: donate school supplies
– week 34 challenge: give a sandwich to a homeless person
– week 35 challenge: compliment a salesperson to their manager
– week 36 challenge: leave positive feedback
– week 37 challenge: do a household kindness
– week 38 challenge: let someone go ahead of you in line