May the Fourth Be With You

I worked on and finished one of my Pay It Forward projects. No photos of the last ones I am doing in case the recipients read the blog. The whole concept of paying it forward or those random acts of kindness is something many of my friends and family do without 'signing up' for it. Its a shared value and one I am proud of to participate in.

For awhile, I was almost shocked when no one took me up on the offer I made on Facebook. I thought that was my widest connection, but know, too, that a post can get buried on a feed so it doesn't always show up. Then, too, some folks tell me that they took me up on it years ago, and want to give others the chance. 

I wonder about the RAK's or radical acts of kindness and if this is where I want my energy to lean into.

PIF is important to me because I feel like a person who has known and knows great privilege in this world. It feels good to give back in ways that I can, such as making something in the fabric arts. They are tangible items that are truly made with my love, and my best efforts.

Being kind seems different from the act of paying it forward. RAK's would require that I be out and about and I am not at this stage of my life. Oh, I see and feel and hear the change in me as I relate to store clerks or people who shop there at the same time I might. 

These days, I project a nicety that I never showed (or didn't have) when I was younger. Sometimes I wonder who I have become with all this Minnesota Nice because I haven't lived there for over 15 years. It is radical, edgy and yet state of the art to send and receive this kind of energy into the world. As my Niece Amanda used to say, "I do my part by simply smiling." Sometimes a smile is enough.