MDBCs 17 Feb 2025

Considered to be a core value of most religions and cultures, kindness is the act of showing concern for others, loved ones and strangers, without any expectations of any consideration in return.

Spreads Happiness and Health

Studies have shown that being compassionate not only helps other people, but also makes one happy and healthier. People who are kind are thought to have lower risk for heart and blood pressure-related diseases.

September 1 in New Zealand

In New Zealand, Random Act of Kindness Day or RAK has been celebrated on September 1 since 2004.

Other kindness related holidays one can celebrate during the year include Be Kind to Lawyers Day and World Kindness Day.

How to Celebrate?

Every day should be a day to be kind, but here are some easy ways to spread kindness around on this day.

Smile at a stranger at your bus stop.
Say "thank you" to your bus driver for driving you safely.
Compliment a friend.
Buy your co-worker their favorite snack.
Help your neighbor mow their lawn.
Pay for the groceries of the person behind you in the checkout line.

Did You Know…

…that randomness is a mathematical concept? In statistics and probability, a random event means that it cannot be predicted.

***

I worked at a boarding kennel where people leave their dogs and cats while on vacation. One morning I had taken a cat out of his cage, and after playing with him and replenishing his food and water, I put him back in. A few minutes later, I was surprised to see the feline at my feet, since the cage doors lock automatically when they’re shut.

I couldn’t figure out how the cat escaped, until I bent down to pick him up and spied his nametag: “Houdini.”

***

Living in a household with eight indoor cats requires buying large amounts of kitty litter, which I usually get in 25-pound bags—100 pounds at a time. When I was going to be out of town for a week, I decided to go to the supermarket to stock up.

As my husband and I both pushed shopping carts, each loaded with five large bags of litter, a man looked at our purchases and queried, “Bengal or Siberian?”

***

One night while I was cat-sitting my daughter’s indoor feline, it escaped outside. When it failed to return the following morning, I found the beast clinging to a branch about 30 feet up in a spindly tree. Unable to lure it down, I called the fire department.

“We don’t do that anymore,” the woman dispatcher said. When I persisted, she was polite but firm. “The cat will come down when it gets hungry enough.”

“How do you know that?” I asked.

“Have you ever seen a cat skeleton in a tree?” she said.

Two hours later the cat was back, looking for breakfast.

***

My 85-year-old grandfather was rushed to the hospital with a possible concussion. The doctor asked him a series of questions:

“Do you know where you are?”

“I’m at Rex Hospital.”

“What city are you in?”

“Raleigh.”

“Do you know who I am?”

“Dr. Hamilton.”

My grandfather then turned to the nurse and said, “I hope he doesn’t ask me any more questions.”