Feb. 20th, 2013
Last week at the RCAH, we collected anonymous notes on kindness in the spirit of Kate McGormley’s blog “Kindness Matters.” We put a decorated box in the main office with an invitation to leave a note for Random Acts of Kindness and Valentine’s week with the following prompts: “I’m thankful for…” “Love is…” and “Kindness is…” These are some of the 40 notes we received:
“I’m thankful for all the wonderful friends I’ve made who’ve helped freshman year seem a little less scary.”
“Love is…letting a bug go outside…Bugs are friends.”
“I’m thankful for how loving Kate is. She left a random pinecone on her desk since I first met her and it only left her office when she did.”
“Love is everlasting. It keeps you safe and warm in times of darkness. Let your heart be open to the comfort it can bring.”
“Kindness is being held when you feel like you’re falling to pieces.”
“Love is…forgiving someone even when you don’t want to.”
“I have been immersed into the universe by my 3 yr. old’s interest in the solar system. We have looked at every planet and by far, although Saturn is nice, and Uranus is spectacular, the Earth is by far, by far, the most majestic. By far…I am thankful for that perspective given to me by a three year old.”
“I think Love is special to me.”
“I’m thankful for unanticipated acts of thoughtfulness that sometimes come from unexpected places.”
“Love is…doing everything and more for people you care about.”
“Love is something that you don’t look for, it finds you.”
“Love is patient & kind & everything 1 Corinthians 13 says. It is also putting others before yourself because you want to.”
“I’m thankful for my home.”
“I’m thankful for my best friend and partner.”
“Love is bettering yourself for others.”
“I’m thankful for generous faculty, especially with snacks!”
“Love is…putting someone else’s needs before yours. –Olaf from Frozen.”
“I’m thankful for…friends and family that help others in need.”
“Love is…understanding each other.”
“The best act of kindness is to love yourself & others as well.”
“Love is walking and talking together – Al Green ‘Love and Happiness.’”
“I’m thankful for my family and for my RCAH family!”
“Kindness is not seeking attention.”
“Love is finding a home just by being in the presence of someone else.”
“Kindness is appreciating everyone and everything.”
“Love is…putting someone else’s needs above your own.”
“I’m thankful for my incredible teachers and new friends.”
“Love is all you need.”
“I’m thankful for God and all the positive people in my life. I’m thankful to be alive…Go green!”
“There is nothing like real love – Shirley Temple.”
“Kindness is opening the door for random strangers, saying thank you or constantly smiling – spreading joy.”
“Love is everlasting. Kindness is an action that can change the world for the best. I’m thankful for being a human and being in a community.”
“Love is a shared conversation over a meal, no matter if it’s a picnic, dinner out, or lunch in the Gallery.”
“I’m thankful for my educational opportunities. Love is hot and delicious pizza! Kindness is listening to your friends.”
“Love is a warm hug on a cold day.”
“I am thankful that the RCAH had Kate McGormley when we opened our doors in 2007 and that we got to keep her as long as we did.”
“I am thankful for the existence of the RCAH and my fantastic colleagues and students.”
“I am thankful for the moments I experienced with the wonderful people in my life. People come and go out of my life for many reasons but stay or go I am thankful they came.”
“Kindness is…being quick to listen, slow to talk, and slow to anger.”
“Love is when you feel safe, you feel warm, and you feel special, when you know that you are where you belong.”
“Love is beautiful!”
“I’m thankful for my parents.”
The RCAH Center for Poetry at MSU 