Every day we hear about the dangers, violence, and hatred in our country from local and national news sources. When the world’s burdens are weighing us down, small acts of kindness help lift us up. Random Acts of Kindness Day was celebrated on Feb. 17.

Whether your act is as simple as a compliment, picking up trash, or holding the door open, your kindness is appreciated. It is easy to go through day to day life using tunnel vision to focus on one goal. This causes us to miss the world around us, and isn’t the scenic route more enjoyable than traveling through a dark passage. 

Josh de Jong is the original founder of International Random Acts of Kindness Day. The first Random Acts of Kindness Day was officially founded in 2004 in New Zealand.

Although this unofficial holiday wasn’t celebrated until 2004, the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation was founded in Denver in 1995. This foundation shares stories of random acts of kindness and gives ideas of ways people can contribute to their cause, to help their goal to “make kindness the norm”

Random Acts of Kindness Day may only be observed for 24 hours a year, but that doesn’t mean we only have to participate once a year. Let this day be a reminder for how we should live every day of our lives–looking out for others and seeing beyond the tunnel of our own needs and wants.