My acts of kindness continue and I have been wondering how many are directed towards people, known or unknown; how many focus on animals, or on the earth; and how many have essentially been for myself? As I look back, this is what I have found. Out of the 40 acts of kindness logged so far 24 have been for people I know, and 11 offered to strangers. I have focused on the earth/world on 8 occasions, and considered animals once. Although each time I act I get a buzz, on one occasion I did something ‘just for me’.

You may have noticed by the numbers that a few acts of kindness have been placed in more than one category. I will reflect on what this mini audit has revealed about my choices or perhaps what I pay attention to. Should I look for more opportunities to be kind to animals (or perhaps their owners)? Might I treat myself more often, or recognise where positive actions also benefit me? An example of this is No.37 below. I should have acted sooner and have felt guilty about not doing so. Now I have, I feel better, and I understand my action was also appreciated by the person involved.

I’ve:

36. Used an e-ticket when I went by train (being kind to the earth)

37. Apologised to someone about a past issue … I should have done it earlier (being kind to someone else and to myself)

38. When invited to by the author, given feedback about a novel (kindness towards someone I know)

39. Bought some delicious Palestinian olive oil (http://www.zaytoun.org/) (positive action towards the world and to strangers, as well as to myself in that I love this product)

40. Offered to take a neighbour to visit her husband in hospital (kindness to someone I know)

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