Melissa from Operation NICE came up with this month’s Random Acts of Kick Arse theme, and she chose gratitude.
You know, this is our 5th month since starting the RAOKA Crusade and I’ve noticed a theme. At the beginning of each month, I tend to think to myself, “OK Sami, how the hell are you going to spread [insert theme] this month. Pretty much every time, I say back to myself, “I don’t know. Can we go have a rum and ginger beer now?”
Despite the voices and the consumption of rum and ginger beer, every month, the “how” just comes knocking. I’m rapidly learning to just go have a rum and ginger beer and let life, and the theme, unfold as it should.
This month was slightly different in that there was something I’d been meaning to do but hadn’t gotten around to it. The “something” fitted perfectly with this month’s theme so I was a little more proactive with this particular task. As for the rest, well, let’s just say, the rum and ginger beer came in handy!
RAOKA 1: The Lost Art of Letter Writing
For a while now I’ve wanted to write a letter to both, my parents and Chris’. We have to be two of the luckiest people on the planet to have the parents we do. You would have more chance finding a brain cell in a block of cement than finding better folks than ours.
I felt it was high time I told them so.
Those who know me are aware that in my world, efficiency is highly prized. Writing a letter is not efficient. Apart from the time it takes to write it, address the envelope, find a stamp and post it, it also takes time for the receiver to decipher my chicken scrawl handwriting.
However, with efficiency, in communication anyway, comes a certain lack of personalness (and yes, I did just make that word up). In light of this, and despite the onset of Repetitive Strain Injury post letter writing, I sent my letters containing all the reasons I’m grateful to have them in my life.
RAOKA 2: The Currency of Beer
Some time ago, I wrote about discovering our newly bought car, who we’d named Bluey…
…was indeed mostly a lemon. We have just sold it. It was not without the help of a local mechanic who moved heaven and earth (or rather, other customers’ jobs) to fix it’s lemonness and provide a safety certificate so the sale would go through.
He really did go above and beyond the call of duty to get it sorted for us. To express my gratitude, I rocked up with a couple of ice cold beers…and $800 for the f****** repairs. He greatly appreciated both.
Oh yeah, and I’m also grateful for the couple who bought Bluey. So you know, I made them aware of his lemonness but they still wanted to go ahead with the sale. I would make the worst car salesperson ever because I simply cannot (and don’t want to) lie.
RAOKA 3: Symo, You Rock!
I have deep gratitude for all my friends and over the years I’ve let them know that in various ways. There is one friend however, that I realised I hadn’t really communicated this with. What better time to do it than now.
His name is Symo (a nickname by the way).
And a more loyal friend you will not find. Whether it’s cooking dinner, grabbing a lift, supporting my latest project, taking me water skiing, forwarding my blog, fixing a computer or a myriad of other things, Symo has always been a first class friend. Generosity is his middle name.
So Symo, I hope you’re reading this because you rock my friend! I’m grateful to call you a mate. Thank you for all the good times, support and friendship over the years. xxx
RAOKA 4: I am Grateful For…
This month also saw me start writing in my gratitude journal again.
I’ve used this journal in the past to help me identify what I’m grateful for whilst going through tough times. My thought; Why not use it when times are great too? This month was a perfect time to crack it open again.
RAOKA 4: To You, The LL&L Community
And then there’s you lot; the crazy, funny, supportive, caring, exceedingly brilliant community around Life, Laughs & Lemmings. Without you, my words, Flashdancing and rants would be nothing but an echo reverberating in the Internet chasm (some would argue they’d be better served as echoes!). As a token of my gratitude, I have written a poem in your honour;
To all the folks that visit here,
From some places far and others quite near,
A big thank you from me for taking the time,
To read prose, watch me dance and hear me whine.
Your comments and quips amuse me no end,
Especially when, and let’s not pretend,
I speak mostly shit and oh yeah, tend to cuss.
How I manage a G rating is anyone’s guess.
Nevertheless you come by and pay me a visit,
Not in your droves but that’s how I like it.
The connections and community is what makes this fun.
To each and every one of you, thanks a tonne!
The Other RAOKA Crusaders
Check out below and at the end of this post to find out how the other Kick Arse Crusaders spread gratitude this month;
Lori from Jane Be Nimble
Dani from Positively Present
Lance from The Jungle of Life
Gayze from Gayzehound’s Animal Communication
Zeenat from Positive Provocations
Note: We’ve had a couple of core RAOKA members exit the group due to other commitments (thanks so much guys for being founding members) and as such, have 2 regular and enthusiastic contributors to this movement taking their place; Gayze from Gayzehound’s Animal Communication and Zeenat from Positive Provocations.
Getting Involved in RAOKA!
If you’d like to become a Random Acts of Kick Arse Crusader, then here’s your chance;
- Follow along with our monthly themes and spread the random acts of kick arse!
- Write a post about what you got up to and publish it on the first Wednesday of each month if you are in the US or Thursday for Aussies (for everyone else, check out your corresponding day here). If you need a reminder each month, feel free to email me at sami [@ symbol] lifelaughsandlemmings [dot] com letting me know you want to be a RAOKA Crusader and I’ll send you a reminder email). If you don’t have a blog, you’re welcome to play along in the comments.
- When you see my RAOKA post published, fill out your details in the form below including the URL address of your own RAOKA post and the title of your blog in the “Link Title” field. This will then automatically create a link to your post for others to see what kind of arse kicking you get up to. See the following link as an example (link 1).
This Month’s Theme
This month’s theme was chosen by Dani at Positively Present: Passion. Here’s to a most passionate month ahead!
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Sami,
Wow, first off…your G-rated poem is really quite wonderful! I’m one happy camper to be here (you make life fun!).
And your friend…the one with the middle name of “Generosity”…wow! He was destined to be the great friend he is to you, with a middle name like that. Woohoo!!
And…you hand-wrote letters AND in your journal! …and avoided repetitive strain! How cool is that! Well…it’s cool, but not nearly as cool and awesome a gift as what you gave your parents and Chris!
So I’d say gratitude ruled this month, and you are a STAR!!!!
Ha ha ha!! I was laughing all the way – thank you Sami!!! I love to read your blog and you get me motivated to do some of those things I have always wanted to do.
You are a great inspiration!
Best wishes,
K
Sami, loved your post, and LOVED your poem! Thanks so much!
Your parents, and Chris’s, I’m sure, are just as thankful to have you in their lives.
And I’ve also rekindled my gratitude journal this month….
And can most definitely relate to lemon cars.
Anybody wanna buy an Aztek?
Neh, didn’t think so.
Thanks so much for inviting me along for the ride!
RAOKa-On!
The part about writing letters to your parents brought tears to my eyes, I’m pretty-much a sap for that sweet kind of stuff. Same for thanking your friend.
The quote yesterday on the desk calendar my pal, Deeper Issues Dot sent me, was by Anna Cummins. And it reads”Do not save your loving speeches for your friends till they are dead; Do not write them on their tombstones, speak them rather now instead.” Sami, your extreme awesomeness today inspires my very heart of hearts, as did that quote.
Plus beer and cussing!? What more wonders could one post hold?? Honesty about Bluey!!
I love your blogging friendship too! The more you reveal yourself , the awesomer I see you are!
Whoo-hoo. And looking forward to much passion next month.
xo
What an extremely cool idea!
@Lance
Awww, thanks Lance. You are too kind. Yes, gratitude did rule this month for sure. It was very cool how opportunities to give and receive gratitude cropped up. I love how the RAOKA themes give us a focus each month. It’s amazing to me how when you focus on something, it shows up.
As for being a star, right back at you!
@Kirsty
Thanks so much Kirsty. Totally stoked it’s provided you some inspiration. Go to it girl! xxx
@Gayze
Hey Gayze. Thanks for your lovely comment. Had to laugh at you trying to offload your Aztek. Damn liabilities on wheels!!
It’s freakin awesome you’re part of the crusade! RAOKA-On all right!
@Jannie
Hey there Jannie. You left such an awesome comment. Thank you. I totally LOVE the quote “Do not save your loving speeches for your friends till they’re dead.” It’s so true. Actually, the reason I have a thing for telling people what they mean to me, relates to that quote. When my Grandma was in the latter stages of cancer, she asked to see us grandkids one last time to say good bye. When I saw her, I was so overcome with sadness that while I told her I loved her, I couldn’t tell her exactly what she meant to me and how she’d impacted me. I was able to do it the next day through my Mum but I wish I could have told her myself. Since then I’ve made a point to not hold back with that sort of thing.
Haha, beer and cussing. Yep, rum and cussing are my 2 mortal sins. A girl can’t be perfect!
Great post, Sami! I love the “Lost Art of Letter Writing” — it really IS a lost art!!
@Mama Zen
Thanks Mama Zen! Appreciate you dropping by.
@Positively Present
Thanks Dani. Yep, instead of “video killed the radio star” it should be “email killed the letter”!
Hey Sami,
Great minds think alike hmm 
I loved your gratitude acts this month
I started a journal too…and wrote about it too
And writing a letter to your folks..now thats just priceless. Youve just nudged me in the right direction…:)
Much love,
Z~
p.s. am happy to be part of the core raoka group. Ecstatic is more like it!
Oh, the wonder of having a daughter who chose to show gratitude towards her old parents. How lucky are we, and how grateful we are, to have a daughter such as she!
@Zeenat
Thanks Zeenat! Great minds DO think alike! Good on you for starting a journal. If my experience is anything to go by, you’ll find it really helps keep you focused on all the good things in your life. So awesome to have you part of the group! xxx
@Mum
Thanks Ma. You rock! Love ya.
Hi Sami,
I’m grateful to you for starting us out on this merry crusade. Having a theme to focus on each month really does bring things into the foreground for me to notice.
Recently, I’ve been given the opportunity to post on blogcatalog.com’s community blog. Each Wednesday, I feature someone interesting in the blogosphere. I’m called a Blog Advocate.
Would you like to write a blog post featuring RAOKA? You can place links to your favorite RAOKA participants in your post to share the love.
It’s best if the participants are all members of blogcatalog’s blog directory (it’s one of the largest in the world with an Alexa ranking of 315). Would you prefer March 3 or March 10 (EST)?
Let’s publicize the heck out of this RAOKA idea!
Here’s the link to my most recent Wed post on BC
http://www.blogcatalog.com/community/knockout-interviews-with-doctors-who-are-curing-cancer-and-how-to-prevent-getting-it-in-the-first-place/
@Cheryl
Hey Cheryl, thanks very much. I’ve found the same, focusing on a monthly theme really does keep it top of mind. It’s amazing what you see and what comes to you too. I find that something always shows up around each theme.
Congrats on the blogcatalog gig! Good on you. And as for the blog post, I’ll shoot you an email about that. Thanks for thinking of us.