Greetings,

It’s a New Year! I have just returned from spending Christmas Week with my family in Toronto, Canada. Besides the priceless gift of experiencing quality time with my family, I received a wonderful present from my young nieces and nephews; a subscription to Chatelaine, a Canadian Health and Well Being magazine. Upon reading the January issue, I was immediately drawn to the magazine’s launch of the “Kind Cycle Program, a fun and meaningful initiative that’s all about doing kind acts, boosting happiness (including yours) and spreading Joy”. I’d like to build upon this initiative by putting my own spin on it by creating the ‘Kind Recycle’ program.

1. Your commitment of five acts of random kindness. By the way, you don’t have to limit yourself to five. Kindness can be limitless!
2. When you are the recipient of a kindness, acknowledge this act by forwarding a kindness to someone else. My niece in Vancouver gave me the inspiration to add this step. She was in a Tim Horton’s coffee shop and was informed that the person in front of her bought her coffee; she returned the kindness by repeating it with the person behind her and this was repeated by many customers for approximately 3 hours. Pretty cool! Of course, it certainly doesn’t have to involve $, it can be as simple as taking the time to say hello to someone and engaging in a conversation.

This may not be a new phenomenon in that many people already subscribe to the Power of Kindness, yet by adding the acknowledgement of our receiving a kindness to the conscious act of our extending a kindness, we are fully present and engaged in our lives. In turn, we become energized… We connect to others emotionally and hone our mental focus. We activate the Spirit within that aligns us with a purpose beyond our personal interests. These are the wellsprings of our foundation.

May your New Year be filled with Love, Health, Happiness and Kindness!

Breathe deeply, Walk daily and Smile!

With Love, Peace and Light,
Linda Shields, Founder