Seeds of Kindness - Positivity Matters | Hope to Flourish | H.A.P.P.Y. L.I.F.E.

www.PositivityMatters.org/kindness

Acts of kindness sow seeds of happiness! How will our seeds of kindness bloom?

Left: Nick Hernandez in front of a pillar sculpture by Eddie Dominguez | Middle: the Sower sculpture atop the Nebraska Capitol | Right: kindness cards printed at Constellation Studios. The paper, made and donated by Constellation Studios and Porridge Papers, is embedded with wildflower seeds.

Everyone is encouraged to practice intentional and spontaneous acts of kindness (and write an anonymous reflection to share about each act, because witnessing kindness expands hope) between MLK Jr. Day, January 20th, and July 12th, the International Day of Hope!

Of note along the way:

February 17th is Random Acts of Kindness Day!
March 20th is the International day of Happiness (IDOH).
We will plant the seeded kindness cards of May 19th, Malcolm X Day and the 100th anniversary of his birth in 2025.

Seeds of Kindness launched at the premier performance of Secret Kindness Agents at The Rose Theater and the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service 2025 at UNO. Warning: performing acts of kindness may lead to, volunteerism, community building (especially if you mentor youth), and higher levels of hope.

Kids and children at heart are encouraged to:

Choose a secret kindness agent name if you will be doing some of your acts of kindness anonymously.
Plan your acts of kindness with a friend.
Do five acts of kindness.
Talk with a friend about your experience after each act of kindness.
Write a short anonymous notes about each of your act kindness: what you did, how you felt, ideas for future kindness, etc.
If you already volunteer, please write a note about each of your commitments. If not, please consider becoming a volunteer and/or board member (Lincoln (boards) | Omaha)!
Bring your kindness card to be a part of the kindness idea exchanges at the IDOH celebrations in Omaha on March 20th and in Lincoln on March 22nd.

Additional Considerations:

Try the VIA Survey of Character Strengths (free) at www.viacharacter.org or at www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu.
Have a conversation with a friend about each other’s strengths (listening is an act of kindness) and how you might translate your strengths into acts of kindness.
Pick up kindness cards at Constellation Studios 2055 O St, Lincoln, NE (check out some behind the scenes images).
Some of the kindness reflection cards are embedded with wildflower seeds and we will plant these on May 19, 2025, the 100th anniversary of the birth of Malcolm X.

Hope:

“Everything that is done in the world is done by hope.” ~Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Hope is a perceived capability to derive pathways to desired goals, and motivate oneself via agency thinking to use those pathways.” ~Prof. C.R. (Rick) Snyder

Kindness:

“Life’s persistent and most urgent question is ‘What are you doing for others?’” ~Martin Luther King, Jr.

Forms of Kindness:

Playful: Organize a block party or open-mic stand-up comedy event!
Compassionate: Volunteer at a hospital or soup kitchen.
Generative: Become a youth mentor or coach a youth sports team.

Friendship:

“Ultimately, there is only one reason for love. That one grand reason, which was seen so clearly by the ancients but has gotten lost in the modern stress on individual autonomy, is because we bring out the best in each other.” ~Robert Solomon

“We must concentrate not merely on the negative expulsion of war, but the positive affirmation of peace.” ~Martin Luther King, Jr. Anti-War Conference, Los Angeles, California, February 25, 1967.

“Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.” ~Martin Luther King, Jr.

“In a real sense all life is inter-related. All [people] are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be, and you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be…” ~Martin Luther King, Jr., ‘Letter from a Birmingham Jail,’ April 16, 1963

Click here for a kindness card template.

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