Monday, February 17th is National Random Acts of Kindness Day. Started in 1995 in Denver, Colorado the day was started to remind people to be kind to one another, to practice anonymous acts of kindness, to teach kids to be kind…Kindness feels awesome to the giver and to the receiver. Being kind is actually good for you, releasing endorphins and oxytocin into your body and kindness spreads. When you do something kind for someone, even an anonymous act of kindness, the person on the receiving end tends to turn around and do something kind for someone else! I personally try to practice kindness or at least politeness every day…smiling at people, looking sales clerks or fast food workers in the eye and thanking them…but in our faced paced, distracted world it is surprisingly hard to remember something as simple as thanking someone. I started to wonder…if is is so hard to remember to be kind and polite to people…what about our animal friends? Could we be practicing more random acts of kindness towards them too?
If you have a pet you know that it is sometimes easier to love and be kind to an animal than it is to a person. You probably also know that there are cat people, dog people, horse people,lizard people, etc…Sometimes cat people are really not into dogs, dog people don’t think about horses. So on National Random Acts of Kindness day lets be kind to people but let’s also think about all the different ways we can help animals…all sorts of animals.
A great way to help animals is to teach children about animals and give them an appreciation of nature. Read them books about animals. Take them on nature walks. Get down on the ground with them and observe the insects, frogs, turtles, etc…One of the most important things you can teach them is to leave everything as it is…that these animals belong outside in their own homes! Also teach kids how to approach animals. To ask permission before petting someone’s dog, to be gentle. Today, on National Random Acts of Kindness Day, maybe take the kids to an animal shelter. Have them read to a shelter dog, help socialize the shelter cats, or even have them help clean up around the shelter.
Helping cats and dogs is easy. There are all sorts of things you can do. Help a lost dog find its way home, feed a neighbors cat, pickup after your dog AND other people’s dogs too, volunteer at a shelter, adopt a shelter animal, help feral cats, donate old towels and blankets to your local shelter, take your extra plastic bags to the local dog park….but what about other animals?
- Put bird feeders in your yard. It is fun to observe the different birds that visit your feeders…plus you will probably be feeding the local squirrel population too!
- Put a water feature in your yard. Maybe a bird bath or small fountain. You will be giving your feathered friends a place to drink but also our friends the bees a place to drink…and speaking of bees…
- Don’t mow your lawn…or at least don’t kill the weeds in your lawn. Bees love things we consider weeds. Bee pollination is an important part of our ecosystem.
- Take a few hours today to pick up trash at your local beach or river bank. Trash getting into our water , especially plastic, kills a lot of
marine life so help keep it out of our lakes, rivers, and oceans. - Try to eat less meat.
- Spend some time volunteering at a locale rescue organization. There are all sorts of types of rescue organizations….There are organizations that rescue horses and other large farm animals, there are bird rescue organizations that rehabilitate injured birds…learn about different kinds of animals by volunteering at different kinds of shelters.
- When you groom your cat or dog put the fur out in your yard.The birds will find it and use it in their nests.
- Are you a horse lover? Spend some extra time grooming your horses…help a friend muck out their stable.
National Random Acts of Kindness Day is a great thing…..but let’s try to be kind EVERY day to both humans and our animal friends. What are some ways you practice kindness to animals. Please let me know in the comments!