Acts of kindness project – Term Paper

My own good deeds

I decided to work with two individuals for my act of kindness project. One of the individuals was a homeless man who seemed to be in his late seventies and a child at our local hospital. I opted for these people because I felt that what they were going through was worse than what I was experiencing. It is because the old man was homeless while I have a home. It is hard for him to get a decent meal in a day while I can easily get up to three or more meals each day. The homeless man did not have enough clothes while I felt like I have more than enough because there are those I usually do not wear. The child at the hospital had cancer and this was reason enough for me to decide on her for my act of kindness project.

For the homeless man, I choose to go around my neighborhood and get various basic needs he would use for a while. I collected food and clothes from my house and my neighbors. There were those who offered money, which I accepted. The food supplies would last the man up to three days, clothes and a few dollars that would make a difference in his life. For the little girl, I decided to find a way of doing something that would touch her. I had noticed that the chemotherapy had had a toll on her to the point of losing her hair. I had grown some hair, which I thought would help her feel beautiful even as she went on with the process.

Self-satisfaction

Their reactions were fulfilling and sad to some level. The homeless man cried and decided to give me a hug. I promised to keep the supplies coming for as long as I would because I had talked to my neighbors to be supplying me with all they do not use for the man. He was very grateful, and his emotions were what made me feel sad to some point. The little girl also cried and gave me a hug too. She appreciated all I had done for her and even gave me one of her treasured dolls to carry home. Their reactions were surprising because I thought that they had experienced such acts of kindness before and a thank you would have been all I got. However, their appreciation went beyond a simple thank you to a hug and a doll. They made me feel special to a given level.

My feelings after performing each of the acts were those of satisfaction. The experience added to my subjective well-being were I felt like I gained an overall happiness and some of the level of life satisfaction from helping the little girl and the homeless man. I do not remember a time in my life when I felt the same way. Even in instances where I helped people, and they appreciated it my feelings were not as intense as when I helped the two individuals. A felt happiness, joy, some form of internal peace, and overall satisfaction. I do not think I would have felt a different way if their reactions were different. The main aim of engaging in the acts of kindness was to help these two individuals and make their lives a bit easier. I did not count on their reactions as a point of success but my ability to assist them in as the best gift. Therefore, in such an instance just helping them would have been enough.