A lovely surprise

“Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you”. Princess Diana.

I received a fabulous surprise this morning when I woke up and checked my emails. The lovely traveling couple we had the pleasure of meeting at Sweetheart Abbey had sent us the photos they had taken of Tim and I on our wedding day.

The quality of the images are phenomenal. The thing with eloping meant the majority of the photos were taken with my iphone. I had thought they were ok until I saw how vibrant and sharp Wendy and Geoff’s (as we now know they are called) pictures are.

I am so grateful they took the time to do this. They have edited each photo and sent them via individual emails as the file size is so large and they thoughtfully didn’t want to diminish the quality. As they apparently have 9000 of their own photos from their trip to get through I am really touched they did this for us. 

Anyone who knows me (and many of you who don’t)! know I am a huge advocate of pay it forward. I believe the way to change the world is by one act of kindness at a time. A simple act, a thought, being shown compassion and kindness can be life changing. It’s not solely about making someone feel good in the moment. Such acts can provoke huge feelings of gratitude and joy we recall again and again. When you pay it forward you could be creating a memory someone will draw upon during their darkest days; how phenomenal is that?

Maya Angelou said, "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."

Many of us have a positive effect on someone most days without consciously realising it. Imagine if we all consciously tried to carry out an act of kindness everyday too, it’s possible whatever your circumstances; a smile is the easiest way to start. Who knows how far the ripple effect will travel?

It’s fast approaching World Kindness Day (November 13th 2013). What can you do for someone on this date? The warm fuzzy feeling of kindness is too good not to share. Happiness is contagious - be a carrier.