I love the idea that simply putting positive energy out into the universe will bring more of it into our own lives. I do in many ways believe in karma and the law of attraction, that what you give to the world is what you get from it. Several people have commented that doing a Year of Kindness must surely mean that I’ve got a whole truckload of good karma coming my way. And it would certainly be nice to think that performing small acts in the interest of others will attract more kindness and positivity to my own life.
But (please excuse me being realistic instead of entirely idealistic for a very brief moment) I think it’s inevitable that no matter how good the intentions may be, sometimes kindness will be taken not with appreciation but indifference or even resentment. It makes sense that if karma does exist, it probably won’t come in the form of instant gratification.
Having said that, something that has been instantly gratifying is the amazing support I have already received for this project. Honestly, I really wasn’t sure that anyone besides my Mum would be reading this so it’s pretty wonderful to get so much positive feedback from both friends and strangers! Thankyou for all the different ways you have shown your support – I am adding more of your fantastic ideas to my list daily (see Kindness 365) and I have even received a new kindness uniform (see photo above) from my lovely friend K. It certainly seems to me that sometimes you only have to give a little positivity to the world in order to receive a lot in return. However, you’ll have to stay tuned to this little social experiment and see for yourself: ‘Does kindness attract kindness?’