{"id":1250,"date":"2012-07-22T10:34:29","date_gmt":"2012-07-22T15:34:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/?p=1250"},"modified":"2012-08-19T11:42:25","modified_gmt":"2012-08-19T16:42:25","slug":"small-acts-of-kindness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/?p=1250","title":{"rendered":"Small Acts of Kindness"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Last month an article in Good Housekeeping Magazine caught my eye:\u00a0 50 Simple Acts of Kindness<\/em> by Katy McColl.\u00a0 Once again I am reminded that acts of kindness benefit the recipient, plus those who take the time to do them.\u00a0 Acts of kindness not only help us feel better emotionally and psychologically, but physically as well.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

McColl sites Ph.D. David R. Hamilton, a chemist who left a career developing cardiac and cancer drugs to research the health benefits of kindness, as saying, \u201cKindness is literally good for your heart.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0Doing acts of kindness releases oxytocin into your system.\u00a0 Oxytocin is the same brain chemical that surges when you hold your baby, which temporarily lowers blood pressure \u2013 unless, of course, your baby is crying.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, there are always deterrents that discourage us.\u00a0 Take for example Raymond Dolin<\/a> who was hitchhiking across country gathering info for his book called The Kindness of America.\u00a0<\/em> He was shot in the arm by a motorist in a random act of violence.\u00a0 I\u2019m not sure if he was looking for material by doing acts of kindness or recording acts of kindness done for him.\u00a0\u00a0 There is some sad but humorous irony here somewhere.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But I digress\u2026Other studies show that if you help others you actually get more done.\u00a0 Boston Globe columnist Gareth Cook <\/a>cites Harvard Business School professor Michael Norton.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s not so much how much time you have, as how you feel about what you can get done\u2026\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 In experiments, participants were asked to devote time to others such as writing to an ill child or to do something for themselves.\u00a0 Those who did a good deed for others consistently always felt like they had more time, so accomplished more.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It always amazes me when science and studies prove what God has told us all along:\u00a0 it is more blessed to give than receive (Acts 20:35).\u00a0 Again and again I am reminded through science, studies, statistics, and even God that there are definite benefits in doing acts of kindness. \u00a0So what will I do about it????<\/p>\n

I admit that I really admire people like the man in Chicago who has committed to doing an act of kindness everyday for a year and blogging about it (www.366randomacts.org).\u00a0 Or the guy who hitchhikes across America recording acts of kindness \u2013 although in today\u2019s climate of crime he might want to consider riding the bus.\u00a0 But let\u2019s face it \u2013 I don\u2019t have that level of commitment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However I do know there are small things I can do that don\u2019t take an enormous amount of time or energy. Things like\u2026<\/p>\n