Member-only story
Are Random Acts of Kindness Actually Random?
Random kind acts from strangers are spontaneous events given without any ulterior motive, except to spread goodwill and kindness. But are they really random?
A random act of kindness is usually an unplanned and compassionate act someone does for another person simply to spread kindness. It’s a concept birthed by an author Anne Herbert way back in 1982. So it’s been in our social vocab for years.
Undoubtedly, both the altruistic giver of the random act of kindness and the receiver are touched (sometimes forever) by the event. It can create a feeling of love and connection that momentarily makes even the hardest heart melt.
But I’m going out on a limb to say that for the receiver, it’s not random.
Let me explain through probably a fairly normal life experience where a mix of things happen.
Recently, I was working from home, immersed in several ‘must-be-done-NOW-because-what’s-her-name-needs-it!’ type tasks. Urgent, but not my urgent, if you know what I mean. I admit, I was feeling slightly annoyed by 11am, when the work crisis was over.
I realised with a jolt I’d missed my walk to my local coffee digs.
Desperate for a mental break and dopamine hit, I headed off up the road with the biggest reusable mug I could find —…
