From 2011 to 2016 I was pleased to be able to have done 365days where I did a kind deed every day(& 366days in the leap year)!
In 2017 I am doing it again...my aim is to inspire others into action by showing them how simple it is to do kind acts for others. I do this by doing a kind act a day. I do this by sharing my story and some ideas for living a kinder life. Kinder for others, kinder for ourselves, kinder for the planet. Welcome to 365days of kindness!
Today I spent some time with my mum helping her get rid off few things. Making space for her to be able to do some of the creative work she thoroughly enjoys.
Her graph piece (for those following at home) is not as long as mine but she's started getting rid of things to charity which is awesome. My niece is also well ahead of where she is supposed to be this time of Lent, which is awesome!!!! The best part is moving stuff that has been basically useless but has been in our lives for such a long time!
For example, I bought this under garment for a wedding I was involved in ages ago. Like decades ago (okay I'm not that old but it was (I think) for my sisters wedding which was 17 years ago now. So almost decades but definitely a decade a go. Scary. I don't feel that old.
I think I wore it twice for the same dress. Sadly it's been sitting in my closet ever since. It's amazingly still in wonderful condition and it will be perfect for someone else. This cost me about $100 when I bought it all that time ago and if it gets sold at a charity shop they wouldn't ask for even half of that. Sadly it also doesn't fit any longer so I don't know why I've kept it all this time.
How are your donations going? Are you playing along at home? Have you chosen a charity to donate to yet? If not then find ones close to you that do the most good in your eyes. Do some research to see if their values align with yours.
My lent gift for today is probably highly offensive to some. And for that I am sorry. This magnet was another cheap thing that I found in the "gift box" ready to give to someone. After I bought it I realised just how UNkind it was. Even though I have a healthy dose of sarcasm and a good sense of humour, I just couldn't bring myself to give this one to anyone.
I think the following picture that I (roughly) did from a Pinterest quote sums up my "gifting" perfectly (check out my Kindness Pinterest board for the original).
I may have regretted buying the magnet but you will never regret being kind!!! Someone at the charity shop may have a different sense of humour to me. Fingers crossed it will be loved and enjoyed rather than remain hidden in my box of gifts.
At the end of the year last year I watched Minimalism: a Documentary about the Important Things on Netflix. I learned a lot from this documentary. I thought Minimalism was all about stark bare walls and only owning a few things, or even just being about buying stuff that looked a certain way (Minimalism as in furniture or interior design). From the movie I learned that Minimalism is not just about having "less stuff" but is also about living an Intentional life. The documentary asks what can you contribute to society? Being a kindness ambassador these ideas of intentionality and contributing, more than "having less stuff", struck a cord with me.
Living intentionally, and in my case doing kind deeds (contributing), resonated because I have been unintentionally doing kind deeds for ages. I've been doing kind deeds for my friends, family members and even the wider community but it has become so second nature to me that I've lost a lot of awareness of what I am actually doing. I have been hosting this Blog since 2011 which is One kindness a day for over 5 years. I do my kindnesses now without thinking. I feel like I've lost the intentionality of those kindnesses. Am I just going through the motions? In the beginning it was a struggle to figure out what I could do to be kind to someone else, the environment and even myself. I have created things like the Sustainable September Series to cover the environmental issues and I post kindnesses we can all do and inspiring videos and articles to Facebook regularly. But apart from that... I've kind of lost my mojo!
It's partly because of the documentary and wanting to be more intentional that I've gone back to writing my kindnesses in a book. Recording each kindness to learn what works and what doesn't. Just because I've watched the Minimalism documentary doesn't mean I am going to become a minimalist, but I love the idea of intentionality (particularly combined with contribution)! When I was younger I was told to "try out every piece of advice (or piece of information) and see if it fits, like you would try on a shoe. If it fits with your beliefs and values then keep it, if not then discard it". This is how I decide how to live, learn and share. So if something here resonates with you, keep it... if not discard it.
For me there were a lot of "shoes that fit" in the documentary. Particularly when it comes to consuming and using my purchasing power for good. If you saw my post on Sunday I noticed I "accidentally" bought a dress. So intentionality is becoming more and more important to me. I really want to change the way I relate to money and spend money. I want to be conscious of where I am spending my money and the companies and businesses I support. Simply put, I want to use my money to vote for the kind of future I want. A kind, environmentally friendly place where humans can come together and celebrate their differences and acknowledge their similarities and support each other through this sometimes hard thing called life.
Side note: if I had decided to spend money on "stuff" this month, buying a dress from an opshop fits with my values and would have been okay to me if i had done it intentionally. If i'd purchased the dress in spite of my decision, consciously, I would have been okay with it. It was completely unconscious and unconsidered and that is what interested me. I have turned spending into an unconscious action when I want my spending to be deliberate.
I've been listening to some interesting podacasts recently. I didn't really know much about podcasts last month when I discovered the app on my phone. I saw a recommendation for some on Pinterest that got me started. I have recently fallen in love with the podcasts: Optimal Living Daily; 10% Happier with Dan Harris; The Mindful Kind; Writer on the Road; TED Talks Audio; The Slow Home Podcast by Brooke McAlary; and my favourite at the moment is The Minimalists Podcast (by Josh and Ryan). I've been listening to The Minimalists back catalogue and they often speak of making a conscious choice to buy things and using our purchasing power to choose things to buy because we need them not because it is what is cool, hip, the "it thing" or cheap. I am aware that I buy things just because they are cheap not because I actually need them. Then I have this useless thing that I have to find a home for and I get overwhelmed with the stuff. I don't want to be overwhelmed. Life is hard enough without being overwhelmed too.
Today's kindness Lent Gifting items I bought many years ago because they were cheap. I had no idea of where they would go or go whom. As a result they have NEVER been used and have sat in my "gift box" (the box of stuff I have to give to people when a celebration comes around).
For years I have been hoping that the correct celebration would come around that I could give these trinkets to someone but nothing ever has.
When I bought them (almost a decade ago) I had a very close Young Adult Church Group. Most of us have since moved on to different opportunities in different places, cities and countries. Sadly we don't often see each other. Most of us are still friends. Because of this distance, I am less and less likely to give this kind of gift to someone. Particularly that now I have a more diverse collection of friendships from all walks of life with a range of beliefs, many that differ from my own greatly. Our values are the same though and so we are friends.
I am even re-evaluating my need for a "gift box". If I don't have to keep a huge pile of "Just In Case" items that's got to be good. I can keep the presents at the store until I need them. No more keeping things I may never use or give to anyone else. Now they can go to someone who will appreciate them. They can escape my "gift box".
I like that if I actually want to buy something for someone then it doesn't have to be cheap "stuff". I want the right thing for a person rather than giving them something they may not like or need. It also leaves me more money and time to give a person an experience rather than "a thing". I'm learning that experiences are far more valuable to me than any "thing" could be. The memories of those experiences are wonderful and take up lots less space.
It's funny how giving away one item a day for Lent has me so introspective. For my Christian friends though, they know that that is what Lent is all about. For anyone playing along at home... how is your Lent adventure going? Have you got rid of anything that has made you reevaluate what is important to you?
If you are just reading this for fun! Hi and welcome! I'm so grateful for you stopping here to read about my life and journey with living a kinder more intentional life. I don't expect you to live the life I live nor do I want you to do something that is against your values or beliefs. I want everyone to live lives they love and live them kindly. No matter what that looks like for you
I hope that my open conversations about my life and about how I have been living a kinder life might inspire someone to do more kind deeds for the people around them.
I spent today at a car boot sale selling some craft supplies that my family and I have been getting rid of. We paid for a car bay to support a charity and community group (kindness & dejunking seems to be a theme at the moment). We had a great day and I discovered something about myself too.
What I haven't shared before was that when I decided to get rid of one thing a day during Lent I also decided to not purchase anything new either. I didn't want to buy anything that would bring more "stuff" in when I'm working to get "stuff" out. The weird thing is that because of where we were I wandered over to the op shop (which was in the building behind me) and found an awesome dress. It has pockets... so naturally I bought it. It cost $3 which was the change I had after spending $2 to get a hot cuppa because it was freezing cold here in Perth today. Plus TEA!!! In a big mug! Winning!!!
What I didn't remember at the time I bought my new polka dot dress was that I had made this promise to myself NOT buy anything new. I had only wanted to spend my money on food, beverages, experiences and bills. I did not want to buy more STUFF! And even though I love this dress and it was a complete bargain, it was also a completely unconscious and unconsidered decision. Don't get me wrong I'm keeping the dress... after all it has POCKETS!!!! But what I didn't realise was how unconscious my spending has become.
I will work to be more conscious of what I am actually spending. Of the stuff I am bringing into my life. I will let you know if I slip up again but I hope I don't.
Today I'm passing on my old work shirt. Hardly ever warn but excellent at the time. I figure that I haven't warn it in 4 years and I'm unlikely to do so again in the near future. I know that if I really need a high visibility shirt I can get second hand ones for about $5AUD at any of the local opshops. So I'm covered if I need one in the future.
This shirt could be what some person needs to get or keep a job and earn money. Donating this to charity is providing lots of possibilities for kindness. Kindness for charities or community groups or people who are in need. Kindness is at the foundation of everything I do. I am so blessed to be able to donate some awesome stuff to charity!
Another day in sunny Canberra (yes I am as surprised as you are). I spent the morning taking advantage of the sunshine by sitting on the porch with my book and a cup of tea just relaxing, after all, this is my holiday.
I ate some lovely vegetarian frittata "left overs" for lunch and had fresh fruit for breakfast. Then we went out for dinner...
Being on hoiday is the best excuse to go out for dinner!
I had a roasted vegetable salad covered with pieces of Haloumi lightly dusted with crushed candied nuts on a bed of fancy lettuce. It was divine.
This was huge, delicious and filling. Not to mention vegetarian.
Not bad for a Meat Free Monday! 😍
Today's idea is simple:
Sustainable September Day 6: Catch Public Transport or Walk to Work/School/Uni/Shops.
I then went for a Walk to the local shopping centre here in Canberra, which was a 3.4km walk. And it really got me thinking, how much do we need cars? Sure they are handy but are they really worth all the hassle they give us too? I mean servicing, paying for insurances, licences for us and the car, parking fees, fuel, and the like. Sometimes it is much easier to just catch public transport. And if you are one of those lucky people who can read whilst riding public transport, you have more time to do that!!! Bonus!!!
I had a look at the Western Australian Public transport authority website. They said "Riding the bus, train and ferry is fun, fast and eco-friendly. Transperth passengers reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 232,000 tonnes a year and greenhouse gas emissions from public transport is the equivalent of one third of private cars." Perth Transit Authority 2016
Where I (usually) live in the Perth hills has been fairly limited when it comes to public transport. They run every hour but if you need to be somewhere sooner you often have to catch a super early bus just so everything connects. However, even using the car to take us a short way to the train station is better than driving the whole way to the shops/school/Uni/work/city.
It is amazing how much public transport helps things us get out and about. :)
So do some research if you are not regular public transport travellers so you know where to go and how to get there. It really is easy. I used to do this when I lived closer to the city and worked in the city. It was faster to catch the bus and train than it was to drive in because of peak hour traffic and crazy drivers. Did I forget to mention that when you don't drive you don't have to worry about crazy drivers as much from the back of a bus or on a train.
Today I walked to the shops but I caught the bus back, after all half the walk there had been downhill.
My tip for doing your shopping without a car is to take a backpack and to only buy what you can carry back with you. Which is not a bad thing to do at all!
Kindness idea: Pay for Another Persons Ticket for Public Transport.
You can do this in a Pay-It-Forward kind of way by leaving some money on a ticket machine. Alternatively you could just offer to give coins to someone who doesn't have any or give them the time left on your ticket. If you have an all day ticket and it still has time on it you could pass it someone who is getting on as you get off or someone who is waiting at a bus stop.
Front Lines: Environmentally friendly cars.
Car companies are now looking at how to make their cars more sustainable. The most popular environmentally friendly car currently available on the market is the electric car.
Tesla is currently the most popular Electric Car Company. The cars a pretty fantastic but they started by selling cars on the luxury market. So they are expensive and fancy. They are releasing cars in lower price brackets but there is currently a wait list for these cheaper cars. I must admit I love the Tesla S...
#Drool. I just need a spare $120,000. AUD to be able to buy one of these babies.
Gorgeous right? I thought you might like a bit more information about the car itself. Or maybe that is just me.
I live in hope that Electric cars will not just be things of the future but also the present. I hope they become more affordable, more common and even more sustainable. Then the human races obsession with cars might not be such a bad thing.
I hope you are enjoying Sustainable September so far. 😊
Sending love to you all,
Love Daena xx
Today I'm passing on my old work shirt. Hardly ever warn but excellent at the time. I figure that I haven't warn it in 4 years and I'm unlikely to do so again in the near future. I know that if I really need a high visibility shirt I can get second hand ones for about $5AUD at any of the local opshops. So I'm covered if I need one in the future. 
