Counselor's Corner: Paying it Forward
by Nancy Blanchard - posted Thursday, December 27th, 2012 @ 12:00 pm

Now is the time we are all making our New Year's Resolutions — everything from losing weight to getting a better job or better grades in school. Most of these lofty goals are hard to achieve, but maybe we can learn from some little people who have made big differences in the lives of others.

The Random Acts of Kindness movement started in the 1980's, probably by Anne Herbert, who wrote "Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty." The basic idea was to perform an act of kindness for another person in an anonymous way, with no motive or expectation of something in return.

We read those stories or see them on TV and remind us that there is still so much good in the world. It was a good idea back then, and it would be a great New Year's Resolution now. The movie "Pay It Forward" told the story of a young boy who came up with the idea for a school project. One person would do something kind for another person, and that person would do something good for three people, who would do kind things for three other people.
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Nancy Blanchard, Ed.S, NCC/NCSC, LPC is a counselor at Highland and Lenwil Elementary Schools in West Monroe.