So today I did a little research about random acts of kindness. I compiled a really long list of stuff from different websites and most of it doesn't appeal to me. Most of the things I have found are either not very anonymous or there is no real sacrifice of time or money on my part to make me feel like I've really done anything. How hard is it to "smile at a stranger?" I just have to keep reminding myself that something, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem, is really better than nothing. And could actually make a difference.
I did find a few things that I thought were cool and the first one I did today. It's not very anonymous but I did think it was cool and nice. It's a website called postcrossing.com and it's a service that pairs random people across the world so they can exchange postcards. I sent out 5 (that's the maximum you can send at first) to Russia and The Netherlands and Germany and some other countries I can't think of. You have a profile on the website and it tracks the postcards you send with a Postcard ID. The system is reliant upon the person receiving the postcard to take a photo of it, log back in, and upload it to the website. Again my trust sensors went up when I thought "I'm doing all this work and just hoping the joker that I'm sending my postcard to will log back on and give me credit." Man I sound like a real dick.
First, it wasn't really all that much work. The website builds you a profile so you can see the random people's likes and dislikes. I went to the Cardologist (a local business, good thing) and had a nice conversation with Doug (the owner, nice guy) a man I had never met before and I told him about the website and what I was doing (all good stuff.) Secondly, I doubt anyone with enough motivation to be on a website like this would not log back on and upload a picture. Thirdly, they are incentivized to do so because the more you receive and upload the more cool postcards get sent to you. Lastly, I'm supposed to be doing an anonymous nice thing anyway and not thinking about myself. Give me credit? Who freaking cares if they don't upload the photo? You did something nice for five people in the world and hopefully brightened their day. This is my insane inner monologue while trying to do something nice on my second day! I did do it though.
Also I sent out thank you notes to everyone that gave me a Christmas gift. This is obviously not anonymous and may not even seem overly nice to normal people. In my 30 years on this Earth I think I have written thank you notes twice. So for me it was a good feeling actually writing them and getting them all sent on their way today. I even had to call my Dad to get his correct address (he moved recently) and had a longer-than-I-wanted-shorter-than-he-wanted conversation with him. My Dad likes to talk and once he gets started it's hard to shut him down. It was nice to talk with him though and I don't talk with him too often with him because we live so far apart and live pretty different lives.
I also discussed with a friend of mine how I was trying to do good deeds everyday and how I was actually having a hard time thinking about what to do. It makes me feel like a real piece of shit having a tough time figuring out how to be nice. He suggested going to a nursing home and singing some songs to the people. I thought that was a really good idea. I'm gonna try and figure out when and how to schedule that.
That's pretty much it for day two. So far so reluctantly good.
Money spent so far: $9.87
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