spring trees

Last year during the Lenten season I had a bit of a goodwill campaign I coined Calculated Acts of Kindness, or CAOK. The 2007 Lenten season begins today, along with CAOK II. In a nutshell, I think the easiest way to make the world a friendlier, more peaceful place is to make your home, neighborhood, workplace a friendlier, more peaceful place.
You’ve got to walk the walk.

Call me a bleeding heart liberal (wow, so original, I haven’t heard that before.), or a tree hugger (again, hello! I went to NAU. Our mascot may be the Lumberjack, but the only trees we cut down are those holding up Big Box stores.) — but I really think that each of us can make the world better.

And so, enter CAOK. The idea is to plan good acts during the next 40 days and to do so with a “pay it forward” attitude. I’m going to focus my artistic efforts during this time toward celebrating others. I’d love to hear if you are interested in doing the same.

When the world seems mad, like we cannot control who is in power or why the earth is heating up like a tea kettle, the Lenten season gives us the perfect opportunity to slow down and realize that in fact, we can control all of these things and more. By simply starting with the little things — holding open a door for a stranger, helping a neighbor with their trash cans, complimenting the woman who makes your coffee every morning — we can make our world better.

One person at a time, we are conducting a campaign of calculated acts of kindness.
Won’t you join me?

~K