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Published: Wednesday, Jan. 02, 2013 / Updated: Wednesday, Jan. 02, 2013 11:51 AM

Kindness is contagious – catch it!

Winston Churchill wrote, “We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.”

Kindness does not have to be done only when a tragedy happens. We should practice acts of kindness everyday. Almost 100 years ago, Amelia Earhart observed, “A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and new roots spring up and make new trees.” Her inspiring words were proven by the New England Medical Journal, which showed a single kidney donation set off a domino effect resulting in 10 successive transplants.

When a chemist ran a study on kindness and the person performing a kind act, he found it released a chemical that temporarily lowered blood pressure. Kindness is good for your heart.

Suddenly, kindness seems all around us, especially since the tragic incidents that have occurred lately. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if everyone could do 26 acts of kindness? It really doesn’t have to cost anything.

The late actress Audrey Hepburn was the head of UNICEF for many years. She could have lived in a villa, had many servants and all the other perks of being rich and famous, but chose a life taking care of the poor children in the world. When asked about her work with UNICEF, she said, “It’s that wonderful old-fashioned idea that others come first and you come second. This was the whole ethic by which I was brought up.”

As for me, one of my kind acts on a daily basis will be when I am driving down Hwy. 521 and turning onto Hwy.160. I will let the other driver merge into my lane even if that vehicle is in the wrong lane. That will be one of my kindness acts every day on a list I am preparing to use for the rest of my life!