The great thing about the internet is you can find groups and organizations you’d never imagine exist but are really quite neat – such as The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation.

As our lives get busier it is easier to become more self focused and lack awareness of what is happening around us. I noticed this especially after coming home from traveling and living overseas. A young person giving up their seat on a crowded bus for an elderly person? Strangers helping a lost and confused tourist – despite the language barrier? Common occurrences elsewhere, but not here.

Practicing random acts of kindness here can lead to people being suspicious and defensive, a sad fact of our times. The only solution is to have more people practicing kindness every single day, a habit that can be easily developed and is as rewarding for the person practicing Random Kindness as for the person receiving them. You could use the  Creative Kids 30 Day Challenge to get into the habit of practicing kindness every day.

The group itself, the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation, is a non-profit group that was founded in 1995. Their mission is to inspire people to practice kindness and pass it on. They have many great free resources available to help you including their “Kindness Idea of the Day” (on their homepage) and a browsable database of ideas for practicing kindness.

There are some fantastic resources for teachers, tools, including full lesson plans, to help teach kindness in the classroom and even host a Random Act of Kindness Week. Official Random Acts of Kindness Week is February 14-20, 2011, a week to raise awareness of kindness and encourage the practice of Random Acts of Kindness on a daily basis.

“Classroom to Community” are lesson plans that include videos and interviews with people who have taken the ideas of kindness out into the community and are making a real difference in the world. They are inspiring to watch – even for non-teachers, they can make some great lessons for home school or family activities with your own kids.

There are some great resources for practicing kindness within your community and workplace, as well as a strong online community where you can share ideas and inspiration.

I hope this post will inspire you to bring some Random Acts of Kindness into your life. I am a firm believer in that as much as you give, you receive.

Instead of a question, I offer up a challenge. I challenge all of us to go perform a Random Act of Kindness and come back and share it here. Let’s all inspire each other!