Psychology Paper- Acts of Kindness

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” (Leo F. Buscaglia) A simple act of kindness can ease one’s fears, touch one’s heart, and rekindle one’s faith in humanity. Kind behavior is among one of the most significant features a human can possess, however, as our lives become cluttered with all the burdens of our society, it becomes easy to lose track of what we live for. When my teacher presented the three acts of kindness project to us, I started to question whether I have been selfish or selfless in my everyday motives. I came to realize that performing random acts of kindness is something that needs to be incorporated more in my life on a regular basis. Therefore, I was eager to get started with my 3 acts.

I have fallen guilty to selfish acts more than I am proud to say. I have underestimated the simplicity of taking a couple seconds out of the day, to act on kindness, towards a complete stranger. With that being said, when I came across a homeless man, leaving Walmart, I had all intentions on doing my first act. As I rolled down the window, to give the man money, I dug through my wallet and realized all I had left was a twenty dollar bill. I looked up to hint I did not have any money, but I could not get myself to tell him no. Along with the sadness and pain you could see in his eyes, there was a sense of hope there as well. I took out the twenty and handed it to him. Never in my life have I been so proud. The warm sensation I got all over, knowing, not only did I shock the man, but I shocked myself, was worth it. No amount of money would compare to the feeling I had right then. We as humans have a way with losing sight of the little things, that should be the outmost important. For example, until this project was presented, I would overlook the simplest acts of kindness others would do, almost as