KINDNESS GUERILLAS---JOIN THE FIGHT!
By Dr. Stephen Juan

They attack without warning.  Their goal is a new kind of global warming.  They are the Kindness Guerrillas.

Kindness Guerrillas are a new breed of people who are tired of the selfish excesses of recent decades.  Instead, they bring smiles to the faces of strangers by spontaneous and anonymous acts of generosity.  They may plant flowers and trees in parks and along footpaths, they may give cans of soft drinks to road workers on hot days, or they may pay the toll for the car just behind them.

According to Dr. Gavin Whitsett, “the front-line troops in this soft revolution are Baby-Boomers gone right.  They seek opportunities to bring unexpected kindness into our lives, without expectation of reward.”  Kindness Guerrillas have turned away “from the materialism [and] back to the basics:  caring and sharing and building community.”  He writes, “when we do a kindness without any regard for recognition or reward, when we inconvenience ourselves and freely give part of ourselves away, we challenge the every-man-for-himself logic of the world.” 

Dr. Whitsett, a professor of communications at the University of Southern Indiana, is the author of the altruistic classic GUERILLA KINDENESS: A MANUAL OF GOOD WORKS, KIND ACTS, AND THOUGHTFUL DEEDS originally published in 1993.  This book offers hundreds of ideas, tips, and practical suggestions for bringing a little more courtesy, generosity, and simple human kindness into our world. 

Other books promoting Guerilla Kindness come from Conari Press (author) and are published by Conari/Red Wheel Press of Waterburyport, Massachusetts, U.S.A.  These include RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS (1993), THE PRACTICE OF KINDNESS: MEDITATIONS FOR BRINGING MORE PEACE, LOVE, AND COMPASSION INTO DAILY LIFE (1996), COMMUNITY OF KINDNESS: RECONNECTING TO FRIENDS, FAMILY, AND THE WORLD THROUGH THE POWER OF KINDNESS (1999), KIDS’ RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS (2004), and MORE RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS (2007).

Many blogs and bloggers now exist that provide numerous ways to spread good deeds around to others.  Among these are Kindness USA (the week of 10 February 2010 is Kindness Week), Dave Duarte, Patience Salgado (aka kindnessgirl.com), Jen Lemen, and Mike Stopforth. 
But the grand-daddy of all literary efforts in this field is Dr. Whitsett’s.  As he describes it, his book is “an easy-reading, open-it-anywhere collection of tactics for becoming the kinder, gentler person you'd like to be.” 

Undoubtedly, many Australians would love to be philanthropic.  But these fast-paced and harsh economic times have precluded many of us from finding the time or money to be charitable in big ways.  Guerrilla Kindness suggests ways to be charitable in quick, little ways--and have fun doing it too.

Here are some Guerrilla Kindness suggestions:

• Few kindnesses are more fun or produce more delight than using your Polaroid camera to take pictures of happy-looking couples in public places such as parks.  You take the picture and give it to the couple. 
• When you read in the newspaper of someone doing a good thing, send them a “Good onya” note.
• Buy balloons and give them away to parents to give to their children.
• If there are long queues at the supermarket check-out and another register opens, let everyone else move to the new register first.  And if someone behind you has only a few items to buy, let them go first.
• In the supermarket car-park, when you see someone finish loading their car, offer to return the shopping trolley for them.
• Many routine household tasks are too difficult for some elderly people.  Volunteer to be the Fix-It person for an elderly person in your neighbour.  Replace tap washers, tighten loose screws, change hard to get at light bulbs (you supply the bulbs too), and so on.
• Be the last to board the bus at your stop.  In addition to paying your own fare, tell the driver you want to anonymously pay the fare of the first passenger to board at the next stop.
• Give other drivers a brake.  When others wish to get out of side streets or into your lane of traffic, stop and wave them in.
• Compliments are free and make people feel good.  But many people are uncomfortable responding to compliments with the result that those wishing to offer a compliment often keep quiet.  To overcome this, follow compliments with a question so that the person being complimented will have an easier time knowing what to say in response.  “Those are terrific earrings.  Where did you buy them?”
• If you are an employer, make it a point to compliment each employee.  Many employers never think to do this.
• If you see a garden in your neighbourhood that is particularly well cared for, note the address and send an appreciative postcard to “Dear Beauty Lover”.
• Buy a few extra scratch lottery tickets and give them to waiters in restaurants, shop assistants, taxi drivers, the building attendant at work, or anyone else who has given you good service. 
• At a coffee shop, pay for the coffee of the person behind you.
• If you see a nurse or other member of the helping professions buying a meal at a take away, offer to pay for it and thank them for the great job they do.
• Donate blood.  Your body makes plenty of it.
• Stick a $5 note on a bulletin board with an attached note that reads:  “Found extra $5 in my pocket.  If you need this, please take it---a Kindness Guerrilla.”

It is such a simple message, yet so important:  Bring a little kindness to someone (guerrilla or otherwise).
   

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