
Here's how this blog works...
You have just performed a random act of kindness. Fantastic! Now choose from the posts below what you think is the most suitable category to tell us about your *Ark*. Use the comments section for your story, description or perhaps just to send us a smile. Tell us what you've done for someone, or perhaps if... "You've been Ark'd"!
Friday, June 19, 2009
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Put a little Spark in your Ark...
Share your ideas with me, and i'll add them to the list of *Ark Sparks* ideas section below.
Ark Sparks
- Wait for a pedestrian to walk rather than rush them
- Smile at someone!
- Hold the door open for someone
- Leave a love note for someone you love on the kitchen table
- Write your best friend a letter and mail it
- Send someone you know a random email asking them how they are
- Pick someone in your family a flower
- Buy someone a coffee
A week or so ago, my 12 year old daughter and I were shopping at a store in town called "One Love" Vintage Clothing just off Elm Street in Sudbury. Cute shop. Liked the young girl working there. Her business cards were designed very tastefully with a small red heart on them. And her bags for the store were just plain brown paper bag style. So we got to thinking, *Wouldn't it be nice to go buy her a stamp of a heart and a little red ink pad so she could just stamp stuff?*. Well my daughter was all for it. So we went and bought one. But we decided to give her the small gift (which we regifted to her in her own brown bag which we got earlier) only after we purchased another item that my daughter wanted. We did not want her to have thoughts that we were trying to see if by giving her a small gift, that we wanted a *deal* or *discount* jon the item, so we chose to do it after everything was bought and paid for. She was surprised to say the least. Im sure we were one of her first customers to do something like that. She was very thankful. We hoped it lightened her day somewhat. And us? We felt fantastic! Such an important lesson to teach our young ones. Signed, Sue.
ReplyDeletePicked up a 40 pack of timbits for the co-workers today, and while at the coffee shop doing so, a nice older gentleman let me in front of him. I wanted to repay him the gesture, so i paid for his coffee.
ReplyDeleteWhile going to the bank to make a deposit, there was an older gentleman sitting outside. It was a Sunday morning. He never asked for anything on the way in. After making the deposit, he asked if I had any change, I gave him $2. Poor man, was wearing slippers.
ReplyDeleteWell, i've had an experience that i'd like to share with you while doing an ark. I won't get into details of what the actual ark was, but what is more important is the fact that sometimes ark's can go just a bit wrong. And so i want to caution you to pick and choose when an ark is appropriate. Performing an ark should ALWAYS be anonymous, if at all possible. They should never make the receiver uncomfortable or embarrass them. Performing an ark should never leave you feeling like you've done something wrong, because if you feel that way, then it did go wrong, somehow. And if that happens either try and fix the situation without causing further problems, or you'll have to just let that one go...and use it as an experience to choose your arking wisely. Good Arking everyone! Don't let it bring you down if this happens to you. Push forward for the bigger picture is far more important as we all learn from our own mistakes.
ReplyDeleteMy family and I were driving through the downtown area of a very large metropolitan center when we noticed a couple of homeless people huddled under blankets on the sidewalk. It was relatively cold outside that day. At first glance, we thought that one of the homeless people was having a little campfire, but quickly realized that his clothing was on fire! (Well, he wasn't actually wearing the clothing at the time---but it was sitting beside his sleeping bag). We jumped out of our vehicle and awoke the gentlemen before grabbing some nearby cardboard and extinguishing the growing fire. The two homeless people didn't seem fazed which was the saddest part of all.
ReplyDelete…on my way to acupuncture, I was driving, and on the road, between Golden Grain Bakery and the cop shop, there was a body on the road.
ReplyDeleteI was stunned.
No one was stopping.
I got to the lights at Paris, and pulled a uey, and went back to the body.
I was already dialing 911 – and I got to the person,and put my flashers on, and the body moved. I thought thank goodness they were not dead.
No one had stopped, or even slowed down.
As I was telling 911 where I was, a man came over, and crouched by the body. The person moved and laid back down.
2 cruisers and an ambulance showed up.
I was almost in tears, seeing how no one seemed to notice. The man who stopped was a cop heading home.
It was a woman, who was very drunk, sleeping/passed out on the turning lane.
Unbelievable, eh?
I recently was in the drive-thru at Tim Hortons paying for my coffee and decided to pay for the person behind me also....I wonder what they thought?
ReplyDeleteEarl Gray Tea - so soothing and brings back an act of kindness that I received...I was in a hospital in Toronto, alone, to have a repair surgery done. I was scared, nervous and alone. The hospital was not clean like the Northern hospital I am accustomed to. I had no pillows on my bed, no water and the bathroom was in such a mess that it made me ill. I closed my eyes and was hoping it would all be different when I opened them. I felt a tap on my arm - it was from my room mate. She was a patient, and asked if I could use a cup of tea. This woman had the kindest face and eyes that I had seen in the longest time. She was hooked up to things, and I thought why is she even out of bed. She must have sensed my fear - the dear woman. I said yes, mostly due to my surprise, and she shuffled off with her IV pole, to get the tea. I regretted my answer, fearing the quality/cleanliness of the tea...she came back, with tea in a beaker! I laughed out loud and asked how and what she was up to. She explained that she was a nurse at this hospital and had gone to the nurses station. She poured me some tea from the beaker. It was the BEST Earl Grey tea I have ever had, and to this day, when I drink Earl Gray, I see her kind face and eyes.
ReplyDeleteI was at a gas station, south of Sudbury. The woman was filling my tank and I passed her my cc to pay, throught the passenger window. When she came back for my signature, she had a garbage bag with her, opened the passenger door, and picked up all the garbage I had on the floor, and thanked me for stopping there. It was such a nice gesture, which pasted a smile on my face for quite some time.
ReplyDelete