We are officially in the last month of the year! Where has the time gone?

Before you set your new year’s resolutions, look back at what 2018 has brought and make its last couple of weeks count by doing something different. I’ve recently come across an alternative advent calendar that’s all about simple, good deeds. Keep reading to discover what it is and how it works.

2018 has been a pretty good year for me, huge for my self-growth and career as I feel like I’m finally getting to where I want to be and working towards achieving more, slowly and steadily. As you may know this online space I’ve created is going through a big rebirth and will soon look nothing like this (find out more here) and i’m beyond excited to be working on my independent projects.

This year was somewhat about eliminating unnecessary external factors and finding a sense of balance and calmness; two factors that never felt natural to me and my untamed spirit. Though as I go through life experiences, I’m learning to appreciate stillness, without that nagging feeling, or fear, of being stagnant.

And as I reminisce about everything that 2018 has brought, I realize that there are still 29 days left to it and can’t help but think how we can best use them up. The 1st of December was a great start to the last month of the year, as after a pretty crappy week, I took some time out from the world and spent some much-needed time with myself. I got lost in the sounds of ‘City of the Sun’ (if you don’t know them, click here now) while I did some journaling on my bed and planned some self-care activities to uplift my mood. The musical mood continued as I went to hear the ever-so enchanting melodies sung by Amalgamation choir (another must musical discovery) and danced my worries off with a friend at a bar.

Whilst chatting about feeling grateful, my friend, another curly-head Eleni, introduced me to an alternative advent calendar; the kindness advent.

No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted - Aesop

We all remember the thrill of eating our way through our chocolate advent calendars, one day at a time, and many of us still do it or have passed it on to younger family members.  The kindness advent involves far less consumption and no sugar at all haha!

How it works:

Instead of munching on candy every day, because let’s face it, with a mountain of melomakarona and kourapiedes heading our way, we don’t need any more daily sugar rushes, the kindness advent suggests random acts of good that you can do for others. For example, December 1 act was to give someone a hug or a compliment. Today’s (December 2) is to let someone in front of you in line and so on. You get the idea.

There are a couple of different kindness advents out there, so I picked out a few so you can choose which one feels more true to you. Save the image, print it and create your own countdown calendar doing something different and sharing compassion; something our world truly needs right now with a number of unfortunate violent episodes taking over, like the devastating school shootings and natural disasters.

What we need is not another Black Friday sale but a helping hand, acts to support each other. You’ve still got time to do something great in 2018, so finish it off by caring for others, be it strangers or not, and experiment with how this makes you feel.

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Perhaps by doing acts of kindness, that have resulted in feeling unfamiliar today or even sometimes a rip off, you’ll inspire someone else to join, creating a ripple effect in true holiday spirit. Sounds too optimistic? Dismiss that thought and give it a go!

And as my favourite TV host, Ellen DeGeneres, says: “be kind to one another, bye bye.”