Random Acts of Kindness

The Magic Dragon

Several years ago, when I was living in Chicago, I read in the newspaper about a little boy who had leukemia. Every time he was feeling discouraged or particularly sick, a package would arrive for him containing some little toy or book to cheer him up with a note saying the present was from the Magic Dragon. No one knew who it was. Eventually the boy died and his parents thought the Magic Dragon finally would come forth and reveal him or herself. But that never happened. After hearing the story, I resolved to become a Magic Dragon whenever I could and have had many occasions.

***

If there is any kindness I can show, or any good thing
I can do to any fellow being, let me do it now, and not
deter or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again.

-William PennProfound Connection

When I was in college I attended a lecture one evening on hypnosis by a blind hypnotist. At the end of the session we did a prolonged relaxation exercise, and I walked out of the room with a completely different body than I had walked in with. It was a very powerful experience of actually feeling myself as a body for the first time in my life. As I was walking across a bridge on the way home from the lecture, a man jumped out of the bushes and tried to hit me. It was really strange-here was a random act of physical violence coupled with an incredibly powerful experience of kindness that had moved me into my body. The violence is now just a memory, but the hypnotic journey into my body forever changed how I feel.

***

Complete possession is proved only by giving. All you are
unable to give possesses you.

-André GideAh, Bambini!

My husband and I were traveling in Italy with two small babies and an au pair. We would trade sightseeing time with the au pair so we could all visit the requisite churches and museums. But on this day we took the babies along, since we only had one day to go to Assisi and

The Editors of Conari Press have produced the bestselling Random Acts of Kindness series, with over 1 million copies sold.


Dawna Markova, Ph.D., is internationally know for her groundbreaking work in helping people learn with passion and live on purpose. She is the CEO of Professional Thinking Partners, Inc., co-founder of the Worldwide Women's Web, and former research affiliate of the Organizational Learning Center at MIT. Her books include I Will Not Die an Unlived Life, The Open Mind, and No Enemies Within; An Unused Intelligence, co-authored with her husband and business partner, Andy Bryner; and How Your Child Is Smart and Learning Unlimited, co-authored with Anne R. Powell. She lives in Geyersville, California.
Brenda Knight began her career at HarperCollins, working with luminaries Paolo Coelho, Marianne Williamson, and Huston Smith. Knight was awarded IndieFab's Publisher of the Year in 2014 at the American Library Association. Knight is the author of Wild Women and Books, The Grateful Table, Be a Good in the World, and Women of the Beat Generation, which won an American Book Award. Knight is a poet, writer, and editor. She also serves as President of the Women's National Book Association, San Francisco Chapter, and is an instructor at the annual San Francisco Writers Conference, Central Coast Writers Conference and wherever she can be with fellow writers. She resides in San Francisco, CA.

Dubbed the "The Love Doctor" by the San Francisco Chronicle, Daphne Rose Kingma is an emotional healer, spiritual guide, former psychotherapist, relationship expert, keynote speaker, and author. Her books have been translated into sixteen languages, selling over a million and a half copies. A frequent guest on Oprah and Charlie Rose, Kingma has appeared on various television and radio programs.

A longtime resident of Santa Barbara, California, she is also a frequent workshop leader at Big Sur's prestigious Esalen Institute.

www.daphnekingma.com

"Over the years, I've foundmyself continuously revisiting Random Acts of Kindness. Whenever theworld's negativity weighs on my heart, this book always helps me center mythoughts and actions."



-Brenda Knight, author of Be a Good in the World



"This book is a gentle, actionable reminder to set yourintentions and act positively as often as you can. You never know what rippleeffect your little act of kindness could have!"



-Becca Anderson, author of TheJoy of Self-Care