Guerrilla Goodness is intentional, anonymous acts of kindness performed in playful, creative ways for strangers, friends, and family.
It is the power of kindness and joy coming alive for all involved, both the giver and recipient. It’s discovering something about yourself and the world that changes everything, it is about believing and standing in kindness.
Guerrilla goodness is dropping flowers on strangers’ doorsteps, chalking up sidewalks outside of schools with good wishes on the first day of school, leaving quarters in all the gumball machines in town, slipping starbucks gift cards into books at the library for the next reader to find.
I like to think it is where strangers and kindness meet to play!
I am completely obsessed with the idea that random kindness can change the world.
It started small as my mom taught me to do someone’s dishes after a party, as I got older it was paying the toll for the car behind me, making a meal for a new mom or maybe leaving a $20 in the street musician’s guitar case…but it really all began with my sister and her magical way of anonymous giving.
During my poverty days of ramen noodles and no health insurance for my baby, she would hide bills all over my house and leave like nothing ever happened. Packages from L.L. Bean would arrive on my doorstep with a winter wardrobe but no note or bill. It always seemed to appear at just the right moment and when I grilled her, she would never confess.
Over time I realized that kindness came in all forms and I didn’t have to be rich to spread love and joy in the world. Tiny notes left in books at the library, a long conversation with an elderly man in the supermarket, a cold drink for a bum on the street, all of it energized my soul in a way nothing else did or could. There is no selfless good deed but it doesn’t really matter, the world needs it all… I have been on both ends of kindness and decided this was the work of my life. When I looked back, kindness had been calling me all along.
Guerrilla Goodness unfolded on my blog in 2007 after a kindness adventure I did to remember my friend Happyanne whose love and energy is ever present on this earth even though she has gone on. It was ridiculously fun, the sneaking, the rush, the power of kindness mixed with the power of play, all of it was highly addictive for my kindness call and heart. GG has evolved over time and hopefully will spread in ways I can’t even imagine.
(Listed by my favorites, not by date)
guerrilla goodness: the great ding dong ditch w/ mondo beyondo
guerrilla goodness: you are loveable
guerrilla goodness: ding-dong ditchin’
guerrilla goodness: takin’ it to the sidewalks
guerilla goodness: takin’ it to the sidewalks part2
guerrilla goodness: cotton candy kindness
guerrilla goodness: got you in my back pocket
guerrilla goodness: chalk kindness+community=love
guerrilla goodness: candy kids
guerrilla goodness: the great wall of motherly kindness
guerrilla goodness: kindness popsicles
guerrilla goodness: the mothers holiday survival kit
guerrilla goodness: in honor of…
guerrilla goodness: eggawesome!
guerrilla goodness: rubber kindness
guerrilla goodness: sidewalk chalk love (it’s back!)
guerrilla goodness: kid kindness, silly style
guerrilla goodness: coffee love
guerrilla goodness: gone disastrous
guerrilla goodness: happy birthday my friend
guerrilla goodness: you are magic
guerrilla goodness: laundry love
guerrilla goodness: going gourd
guerrilla goodness: we’re lucky to have you
guerrilla goodness: dinner with jimmy
guerrilla goodness: light in the dark
guerrilla goodness: the chocolate chain
guerrilla goodness: message to the world
guerrilla goodness: back to school treasures
guerrilla goodness: back to school love 11
guerrilla goodness: what you know about love
guerrilla goodness: when everything goes wrong
guerrilla goodness: library love
I’d love to hear about your own guerrilla adventures, and check out the GG Flickr pool to see what other Guerrilla Goodness Gorillas are doing.