Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome
#1: On social media, SHARE an ACT OF KINDNESS you have witnessed with the tag #AmericaIsKind, then PAY IT FORWARD by doing a random act of kindness for a stranger. TAG 3-5 friends to take the #AmericaIsKind Challenge to keep the acts of good going.
#2: Participate in the 30-day #AmericaIsKind Challenge, where we are turning our #GratefulToGood by practicing gratitude and acts of kindness every day for a month. You can find the daily gratitude, acts of good, and highlighted charities HERE. Jump in or out any day…whenever you find the challenge is the perfect time to begin.
Today is Day 29 of the 30-Day #AmericaIsKind Challenge: Our theme today is Transportation, and our Charity of the Day is: Mercy Medical Angels
“Mercy Medical Angels’ mission is to ensure that no one in need is denied medical care due to a lack of transportation…millions of our fellow Americans live in poverty and/or in remote areas and lack the financial means to travel to distant medical specialists for treatment. Their future health and even their very lives can depend on overcoming these challenges.”
“Mercy Medical Angels’ mission is to ensure that no one in need is denied medical care due to a lack of transportation…millions of our fellow Americans live in poverty and/or in remote areas and lack the financial means to travel to distant medical specialists for treatment. Their future health and even their very lives can depend on overcoming these challenges.”
Gratitude: “I am grateful for transportation.”
Whether we walk, bike, take the bus/train/subway/streetcar, UBER, carpool, drive, or fly to work, school, appointments and medical treatments–we are always getting around somehow. Behind that “somehow” are networks of engineers, drivers, planners, safety officers, and emergency responders who keep us safe as we travel. We typically don’t notice the value of transportation until it doesn’t work: when the car breaks down, the bus is late, or the subway car won’t move. So let’s take a moment today to be grateful for all the days everything does work properly, and let’s turn that gratitude into some Acts of Good!
Good: UBER. The next time you have a great driver, leave a compliment. Buy an UBER gift card (0r two!) for an elderly or physically-challenged person who often needs a ride.
Good: Bus. Transportation is often a critical issue in whether a person can get and keep a job.Purchase a week, month or yearly bus pass and donate it to a local community program that helps people get back to work. (One of my favorites is Dress for Success.)
Good: Subway/Streetcar/Train. When you deboard, leave a sealed note on your seat address to: “The next person who sits in this seat”. In the note, write a simple message of encouragment or an inspirational quote, and sign it “from a stranger who cares”. You never know who will receive the message, or how badly they might need it!
Good: Be Kind. Greet the people you pass often but forget to notice–the bus driver, the doorman, the toll booth operator. If you see them regularly, learn their names & smile when you see them. Be the bright spot in thier day.
Bonus Good: If you have a spouse with a car, take it for a wash, get gas, or even clean it.
Good: Donate. On this #GivingTuesday, consider making a donation to Mercy Medical Angels and help provide much-needed transport for patients.
Reba Riley is the author of Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome: One Woman’s Desperate, Funny, Healing Journey To Explore 30 Religions By Her 30th Birthday, the 2016 memoir Elizabeth Gilbert calls: “Hilarious, courageous, provocative, profound…Reba Riley brings the light for seekers of all paths. If Eat Pray Love had a gutsy, wise, funny little sister, it would be Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome.” She is a motivational speaker, blogger, and television contributor. You can find her online on Facebook Instagram Twitter
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