First time when I signed up for the Kindness Challenge was in the fall last year. I received an email for 21 days – each of them would nudge, inspire me every day to perform an act of kindness – call a friend, do something nice to family member, appreciate a public servant, talk to a stranger, give a gift of book – each of them made me pause and think about my own thinking patterns, my relationships. It opened me up from inside like never before. I have moments of being in a zone when I could focus on task at hand without worries, fear or stress. It gave me moments of revelation and moments of renewal.

So, I was looking forward to listening to thoughts and ideas from our callers on the Awakin call on Kindness Challenge. The experience left me with a lasting imprint.




You will be able to listen to the the recording of the call on the Awakin call page.

Here are some of the ripples from journey of callers that collectively held a deeply connecting, nurturing space on this call.

“It was a rainy Sun morning at the coffee shop with a very few people inside. My husband and I were having a nice time there. We saw a lady, a stranger, sitting there. I went to her, gave her a Kindness card and started conversation that continued for a couple of hours. We connected, and it felt so good.” – Arathi

“Kindness isn’t always about giving things. Smile, be nice to people around. Make people feel important and valued.” – Patricia Amazon




Mish from Brooklyn, NY described her experience with KindSpring, “I feel like I found gold at the end of the rainbow of my life. I am 67 now and I found you at the age of 64. I am eternally grateful, because I am totally transformed – now I always think of how I can be kind to a stranger. I come to you every day because you lit a light in my life and make me better for other people.”

Mindy Journey: “Every encounter for me is an opportunity for kindness that opens the door for me to. It has impact on my poetry, my craft and other arts that I share with others. KindSpring injects new breathe inside my body – it radiates love, kindness and compassion to everyone. I believe we are the change we want to bring to the world.”

Indu from Canada: “There is so much negative news in the world. I am on KindSpring for about a year and a half now, and it is keeping me grounded with a positive mindset. It also inspires in me the thought that I can do good where I am, no need to travel 1000 miles to do something good. “

Birju shared story and experience of powerful shift in thinking of an army officer after he took on the Kindness Challenge: “One of the officers decided to send his troops to Texas before sending them to Afghanistan. I asked him why Texas. His reply touched me - I would like them to learn how to cultivate plants in dry conditions where there isn’t a lot of water. With that I think they will be much better prepared to plant seeds of peace in Afghanistan… such a powerful shift in thinking.”







“No matter how difficult a situation or trying a day could, when I express myself in a positive way, I feel better.” – Patricia Amazon

“Being kind to my own self is about internal forgiveness. When I take a moment to forgive internally, it changes my experience of the world.” – Michelle Ehlers

“Receiving an act of kindness to me is same as doing an act of kindness to someone else. When someone wants to be kind, is it being kind taking away that act of kindness?” – Patricia Amazon on receiving kindness

“Every time that I run into a person that would seem unkind, or unfair, I say from inside – I bless you, I release you. If I keep them in the box and not let them go, there is part of me that is painful.”



When I think of Kindness Challenge now after doing it for a couple of times, I see it as such an empowering, liberating, relieving, nurturing, healing, growing, nourishing idea. Birju brought a powerful insight. There is part of brain that is the the oldest and the most powerful - amygdale, the part of the limbic system. It is wired with a flight or fight response – reacting to threats or perceived threats. It is so strongly tied to fear that can dominate our behavior impacting our balance, our relationships, our physiology and our state of mind. An act of kindness brings neurological shift in our brain, it rewires it for a positive change.


That’s an aha for me – acts of kindness harness power of emotions for healing, soothing, nurturing growth and internal harmony… Fear, worries and the frenzy they could create – can detach me from my voice from inside, it can make me chase something external or make me run away from something or someone, it can run havoc with my relationships, it can take me away from what is truly meaningful from inside… It has probably caused so many wars and battles, it has impacted so many with health impairments of high blood pressure, stomach ailments, infections and god knows what else… there is a change I can be for what I wish for me and others – start and continue small acts of kindness… it is making an impact. Small is beautiful.






With thousands of people taking on the Kindness Challenge, there are zillions of ripples of positive change that are collectively changing the world – one act at a time. And this thought brings me home, it renews my faith.

While browsing a gift shop in Calgary, Canada last summer, I read message on a wooden plaque sitting there on a shelf. While writing this for our Awakin call on the Kindness Challenge, it connected me to that message yet again…


“Let your FAITH be bigger than your FEAR.”


How do I do that? Here is my inspiration after the call - overwrite every imprint of fear, worry, every moment of trying memories, anxieties ... with an act of kindness - each one a small act of kindness. :)