This little gardener is a perfect image  to express how I see the RAOK Group. Just as the tiny seeds we plant when we offer kindness to others come back to us a thousand fold  those flower seeds we plant with such care will grow into beautiful flowers and provide pleasure not only to us but to all who have the good fortune to  share their beauty as they flourish and multiply. And of course those blossoms will, if properly cared for, go on to spread new seeds as they live out their life cycle -an exact description of what this marvelous group has done, and continues to do , as the members make that effort a  part of their day. Just a few minutes  of your time but to know you have maybe added a little brightness to someone else's day simply by being kind  makes your day so much brighter as well.

 There are now over five thousand members in this group and it's growing every day. Doesn't that speak well for the multitude of decent and caring people we sometimes  forget do exist as we deal with what our world  offers today ? Now , more than at any time I can recall  in my lifetime this poor tired old world is in need of kindness to one another.  Do drop by the RAOK site and check us out ... perhaps you will even decide to join us in sharing  just a few minutes each day to help make  someone else's day brighter.

 I thought about how I would  write what I wanted to convey on this page and came to a conclusion that perhaps others had already said it better than I ever could. As a result I have decided to incorporate a series of ' Kindness Quotations'  for all of us to think about  and perhaps take to heart. My little 'spreader of seeds' will act as a  guide to each.

"So many gods, so many creeds, So many paths that wind and wind, 
While just the art of being kind is all the sad world needs."

"A bit of fragrance always clings to the hand that gives a rose." 

"Kind words can be short and easy to speak, 
but their echoes are truly endless. "
~ Mother Teresa ~ 

"Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, 
kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate." 
      ~ Albert Schweitzer ~

" Remember there's no such thing as a small act of kindness. 
Every act creates a ripple with no logical end." 
~ Scott Adams ~

"The best portion of a good man's life is his little, 
nameless unremembered acts of kindness and of love." 
~ William Wordsworth ~

"If you have not often felt the joy of doing a kind act, 
you have neglected much, and most of all yourself."
~ A. Neilen ~

"One thing I've learned: Unexpected kindness is the most powerful,
least costly, and most underrated agent of human change.
Kindness that catches us by surprise brings out the best in our natures."
       ~ Bob Kerrey, former Governor, Senator ~

"Kindness has converted more people than zeal, science, or eloquence. 
Holiness grows so fast where there is kindness. 
The world is lost for want of sweetness and kindness.
Do not forget we need each other."
    ~ Mother Teresa ~

"Have you had a kindness shown?
Pass it on; 'twas not given for thee alone, pass it on;
Let it travel down the years, let it wipe another's tears,
till in heaven the deed appears, pass it on."
~ Henry Burton ~

" If someone is too tired to give you a smile, leave one of your own,
because no one needs a smile as much as those who have none to give."
       ~ Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch ~ 

"Kindness is the golden chain by which society is bound together." 
~ Johann von Goethe ~

" Each one of us has the power to make others feel better or worse. 
Making others feel better is much more fun than making others feel worse. 
Making others feel better generally makes us feel better."
~ Laura Huxley ~

" Perhaps we're too embarrassed to change or too frightened of the consequences
of showing that we actually care. But why not risk it anyway ?
BEGIN TODAY.
Carry out an act of kindness with no expectation of reward or punishment. 
Safe in the knowledge that one day, someone somewhere might do the same for you." 
~ Princess Diana ~

" We may scatter the seeds of courtesy and kindness around us at so little expense.
Some of them will inevitable fall on good ground, and grow  in the minds of others:
And all of them will bear the fruit of happiness in the bosom whence they spring."
~ Bentham.~ 

"In the midst of global crises such as pollution, wars and famine, kindness may too easily be dismissed as a "soft issue" or a luxury to be addressed after the urgent problems are solved. But kindness is the greatest need in all those areas … toward the environment, toward other nations, toward the needs of people who are suffering. Until we reflect kindness in everything we do, our political gestures will be fleeting and fragile. Simple kindness may be the most vital key to the riddle of how we human beings can live with each other in peace, and care properly for this planet we all share." 
            ~ Bo Lozoff, Human Kindness Foundation ~

"Once you begin to acknowledge random acts of kindness,
both the ones you have received and the ones you have given,
you can no longer believe that what you do does not matter." 
   ~ Dawna Markova ~

"Giving is so often thought of in terms of the things we give, 
but our greatest giving is of our time, and kindness,
and even comfort for those who need it. 
We look on these gifts as unimportant – until we need them."
    ~ Joyce Sequichie Hifler ~

"Kindness is an inner desire that makes us want to do good things 
even if we do not get anything in return. It is the joy of our life to do them. 
When we do good things from this inner desire, 
there is kindness in everything we think, say, want and do"
   ~ Emanuel Swedenborg ~

"Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves. "
~ James Matthew Barrie ~

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world.
~ Mahatma Gandhi ~

"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word,
a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring,
all of which have the potential to turn a life around."
 ~ Leo Buscaglia ~

"The flower of kindness will grow.  Maybe not now, but it will some day.
 And in that kindness will flow, for kindness grows in this way."
      ~ Roberta Alan ~ 

" Try to make at least one person happy every day. If you cannot do a kind deed, 
speak a kind word. If you cannot speak a kind word, think a kind thought. Count up, 
if you can, the treasure of happiness that you would dispense in a lifetime! "
~ Lawrence G. Lovasik (The Hidden Power of Kindness) ~

" 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 Penn ~

There are a multitude of ways we as individuals can create Random Acts of Kindness. 
Each of us in our own way has so much we can contribute to make our world a happier place. I promise you the reward of knowing you helped to brighten someone's day does make it all worthwhile. The other benefit is that you will meet an absolutely fantastic group of people from all over the world. Won't you think about joining us ? Take a minute and drop by to check out the RAOK web site. I truly don't think you will be sorry you did so.

 I have an idea ... if you were thinking of taking the time to sign my guest book, which I always appreciate, instead of doing so, take that time to visit the RAOK site. You'll find the link to their site at the bottom of this page.

I have added a second page to this section to display an award which my site recently received from RAOK, and of which I am very proud, as well as miscellaneous  images related to my activities with  the Group.  You  can  visit this page  if you wish by clicking 
on my little friend below.