This week the Master Key Experience (MKE) community was encouraged to perform Acts of Kindness and observe kindness in action. We were to record every Act of Kindness we performed, observed, or received on the MKE Kindness blog page. We were also encouraged to do Random Acts of Kindness (RAOK) and hug strangers. The goal was for the MKE community to get at least 2000 kindness comments and break the record of 2508.

I’ve been looking forward to this week because I enjoy helping others and doing things that I notice needs to be done but most people are less likely to do. As soon as the MKE Week 16 webinar ended I immediately went on to the MKE website to check out the Kindness page. I had so much fun reading all the Acts of Kindness, commenting on the kindness acts, and liking so many of them. I even posted a few things I did for people in my household.

The following day (Monday) I didn’t have to work so I went for my early morning walk collecting refundables from my neighbours’ recycling. I had so much fun greeting people with smiles and “Good morning!” despite being soaked by the rain and large puddles. Sometimes I cleaned up the recycling that had fallen out of the recycling bins or bags.

When I got home I cleaned the kitchen. I like mornings because I can get so much work done while the guys are sleeping!

Later on in the evening I went on the Kindness web page and commented and liked so many Kindness comments so quickly that the system kept thinking I was spam and would prevent me from liking and commenting. I have no idea how many times I had to refresh the page and scroll down to where I had left off. Before I knew it, over 3 hours had flown by! Time flies when I’m having fun!

Yesterday there was a big rainstorm and windstorm. The ground was over saturated with rain that the ditch in front of the carport was starting to flood. We also lost power for at least 3 hours. One of my landlord’s was up early trying to get the generator to work so he could plug in the two water pumps. He didn’t want a repeat of the carport flooding and the basement almost flooding like it did during the rainstorm of autumn 2021.

I had no idea how to start a generator but I did have several produce crates I could stack on top of each other to create a temporary table for the generator.

I sent several messages to find out if the power was on at work. I also sent a message to my Dad because I was worried he lost power at his mountain home and was cold. My boss and the pastry chef sent me messages the power was out at the bakery so work was canceled for the day. My Dad sent me a message he still had power and he and my stepmom were fine.

Since there was no work I spent the day working on MKE schoolwork, helping my hubby with chores, sending messages to friends to see how they’re doing, playing with the landlord’s dog, listening to my landlords’ stories and concerns, and checking out the Kindness page. This time I was smarter. I only commented and liked a few Acts of Kindness comments, then I’d do something else for a little while before commenting and liking more posts.

By 8 am Pacific Standard Time, Wednesday, January 10, there were at least 2014 Kindness comments! By the time I checked around 8 pm there were already 2372 Kindness comments! The MKE community surpassed the first goal and was well on its way to meeting the next goal of 2508 Kindness comments! Woo hoo!

One thing I’ve noticed with Acts of Kindness is that often these acts can also be viewed as gratitude acts. For example, someone did something nice for another person and often the other person would thank him or her or give the individual a hug or a smile. Sometimes an individual gave food to someone as a thank you or to uplift the other person. I don’t know how many times someone showed me kindness and I recorded that kindness in my gratitude journal. I guess you can say kindness is love and gratitude in action.

Since this Kindness week has begun, I’ve been feeling happy, loved, mentally relaxed, yet excited. I want to greet the day and everyone I meet with love in my heart! Normally this time of year, all the long hours of darkness, rainstorms, decaying leaves, and people being too busy to acknowledge others are catalysts to my depression. Not this time. Constantly reading all the Kindness comments has boosted my serotonin levels. I don’t even need chocolate to make me happy, excited and wanting to help others!

The MKE Kindness page has a quote I’ve shared with many people over the years and sums up what the MKE community has been doing.

“Kindness is the golden chain by which society is bound together.”

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe