Happy Halloween!

Bowl of candy? Check. Costume on? Check. Pumpkins carved? Check. Today is All Hallow’s Eve and what better day is there to dress up, go out, and overindulge on sugary sweets? However, take a few precautions before venturing out:

• If you have kids, don’t let them trick-or-treat without supervision.
• Don’t let your child eat candy that doesn’t come in a wrapper.
• Hold a flashlight when outside so drivers can see you.

But Halloween doesn’t have to be all about the sugar rush and crazy costumes. It can also be a very charitable day:

• Make cards of kindness.
• Some children are too ill to go out trick or treating. Make homemade Halloween cards for hospitalized children with life-threatening illnesses and mail to either Love Letters: Random Cards of Kindness (loveletterscares.org) or Hugs and Hope (hugsandhope.org).
• Many dentists’ officers participate in post-Halloween candy buybacks. Donated sweets are sent to organizations such as Operation Gratitude (operationgratitude.com) or Operation Shoebox (operationshoebox.com). Both organizations include the candy in care packages for US soldiers in harm’s way. Find a participating dental office near you at halloweencandybuyback.com.

Saving the Planet One Paper Towel at a Time

    Do you really need to use so many paper towels? One roll will last me at least one month at home. I have a whole shelf of well-used dish rags that started out their life as a nicely embroidered fabric and now are much more useful to me and the planet! Ditch the paper towels and facial tissues. Tea towels and dishcloths work pretty much everywhere you’d use a paper towel, and you can employ newspaper for the truly gnarly messes. As for facial tissue, toilet tissue works just as well at a fraction of the cost and without separate packaging. Why buy something twice?

George Washington Liked Hemp, So Why Shouldn’t You?

    Some eco-smart Canadians created a completely cool substitute for plastic wrap called Abeego. This hemp and cotton fabric is infused with a blend of beeswax, resion, and jojoba oil. It’s flexible and able to stick to itself, and can seal bowls and wrap cheese, sandwiches, and snacks. It even looks good! Check it out for yourself at abeego.com.

Walking Your Talk (I Am a Bag Lady)

• Keep a compact, reusable bag in your purse for those spur-of-the-moment purchases.
• Refuse a plastic bag for five items or less.
• Fit purchases from different stores into the same bag wherever possible. There’s no reason to have eight shopping bags with only one item in each.
• Put your cloth bags back in your car as soon as you’re done unloading groceries. There’s less chance of forgetting them at home that way (and you’ll be one step closer to using them!). Keep them on the front seat, rather than in the trunk. If you see them, you’ll be far less likely to forget them.

Rescued Treasure

    At the El Cerrito Recycling Center, they have a lively reuse center where you can donate things that are still viable for others. I have seen amazing donations like washers and dryers being hauled away by a family who could not otherwise afforded a set. My favorite moment there was the time a donated sitar’s new owner gave a free concert to all us recyclers.

National Forgiveness Day

If you have borne a grudge for someone, forgive them or let it go. You don’t need that negative energy in your life. Remember that forgiveness is not absolution; what happened in the past still happened, but forgiveness can relieve yourself of the burden that has been weighing you down. Now you can heal. Our society is also in need of lessons in forgiveness and a dramatic reminder of this can be found in the film and foundation behind unlikelyfriendsforgive.com. They promote the real power of atonement and the art of forgiving, even after brutal acts of violence.

Recycling Saves the Rainforest

Here are some other things you can do to save the rainforest:

    *Don’t keep tropical birds or reptiles as pets. Let them live in nature.

    *Buy items made of sustainable wood. Hardwood teak and rosewood encourage logging and deforestation.

    *Recycle all your cans. Bauxite is mined from the ground in tropical countries and is the source for aluminum.

    *Buy local, organic food whenever possible. Conventional agriculture is exhausting our forest’s resources.

    *Support any organization that is legitimately working to protect the environment in developing countries and in precious rainforests.

More Beef = Fewer Trees

    The next time you consider grabbing a burger at a fast food place, remember this: over the past few decades, the rainforests have been disappearing to satisfy our hunger for cheap beef. Rainforests are home to over a thousand indigenous tribal groups, thousands of species of birds and butterflies and exotic animals-all of which are now endangered. Rainforests also affect rainfall and wind all around the world by absorbing solar energy for the circulation of our atmosphere. The trees provide buffers against wind damage and soil erosion, which then help prevent flooding along our coastlines. They are a precious part of our ecosystem. Let’s all do something to protect them. 

    Over five million acres of South and Central American rainforests are cleared each year for cattle to graze on. The local people don’t eat this much meat-it is exported to make the one dollar hamburger and a cheap barbecue meal.

Go the Extra Mile

We have all needed help now and again, and maybe somebody spent time they didn’t have in order to help us out. Return the favor and be that person who is prepared to walk an extra mile (maybe in Toms shoes!).

Who Knew Compassion Could Be so Comfortable?

    Buy a pair of Toms shoes. They are a one-for-one organization that donates a new pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair of Toms purchased. Visit toms.com to learn more about the cause and view the various styles. I like the shiny, glittery Toms!

Turn Pain into Gold

    Everybody loves LL Cool J, but I love his wife, Simone I. Smith, even more. She is a cancer survivor who decided to give back in style: she teamed up with the American Cancer Society to introduce “A Sweet Touch of Hope,” a lovely piece of jewelry which I proudly rock every day. Not only does it look really good, but this lovely lollipop charm helps raise funds and awareness to help save more lives from cancer, a disease that affects everyone in some way. 

    In 2004, Smith was diagnosed with Stage III chondrosarcoma- a very rare form of cancer. Her treatment required an invasive surgery that altered the appearance of a beloved lollipop tattoo. “It literally looks like someone took a bite out of it,” she said. After her experience, Smith designed a lollipop line of jewelry that represents her journey to getting well and staying well. A portion of the proceeds goes to the Cancer Society, so Smith’s inspired example can be an emblem of hope for every woman.

Be Happy for Others (and Let Them Know!)

    When someone tells you their good news, be excited for them and show your enthusiasm. Sometimes we may envy the good things that happen to others. If you focus on how happy this person is, this will allow their joy to become yours as well.

No Gossip

    Avoid listening to or spreading gossip. This is a really hard one in our tabloid society, but gossip can be avoided. For one thing, it spreads negative energy all around. Say something nice instead. And mean it!

Remember, It’s Not All About You

    Be punctual. Arrive on time to events. It’s polite and professional, and you don’t want to keep others waiting for you.

Feed a Family on World Food Day

    UNICEF works to give kids a healthy start and your contribution, large or small, can help someone on the other side of the globe. Go to UnicefUSA.org and explore all the options available to you. 

    Malnutrition is linked to nearly half of all childhood deaths. Children who are malnourished are smaller, more likely to get very sick from ordinary infections, and their brain development can suffer. By treating malnutrition in the first 1,000 days of a child’s life, UNICEF has helped cut the number of children badly affected by over 100 million. Now that is making a difference on a global scale!

DIY Optimism

    Make a sign that reads, “Take what you need,” with tear-off tabs on the bottom that say, “love,” “courage,” “optimism,” and so on. Hang it up in places you regularly pass by. Keep refills at the ready!

Develop More Patience

    I love the old-fashioned ideas of virtues, such as kindness and generosity, a lot. I am determined to develop my patience muscle so it gets stronger all the time. Here is a big one for me: to learn to have patience with difficult people. (And realize I may be one myself and not know it!) This is not only a good deed for the person you are exhibiting patience towards, but it is also a good deed for yourself. Imagine that, a good deed for yourself! 

    For example, when someone pushes your buttons by doing something or saying something rude, you can choose to act with patience and understanding instead of anger. This will benefit you by keeping your blood pressure and stress levels low-which we know are two health issues that many people are suffering from today. My wise woman friend BJ Gallagher ays, “Difficult people are the ones we learn the most from.”

Give Good Luck

    If you see a penny on the ground, flip it and make it face head’s up. Some people find joy in picking up a lucky penny and you can help bring that joy to them.

A Friendly Eye

Offer to take care of a neighbor or friend’s home, yard, or pets while they are away on vacation. They will be comfortable knowing their valuables are in good hands.

Pens Are More Powerful than Swords

Raise money for Pencils of Promise to help build a school in an impoverished country. For more information, visit their website: pencilsofpromise.org.

Quit Feeling Sorry for Yourself

    What follows is pretty much the best example of this I have ever heard (and deepest thanks to Polly Campbell for this astounding testament to the human spirit). 

    When Rhonda Sciortino was six months old, her mother left her at a neighbors house and never returned. She was taken in by her grandfather, a mentally ill, depressed man who parented her through abuse and neglect, and her grandmother, an alcoholic who ultimately drank herself to death. Life was filled with hunger, struggle, and pain. “I lived in a very dark place,” Rhonda said. “Literally the house was dark, there were often no lights because the electric bill hadn’t been paid. It was a filthy, oppressive place.” 

    When she was about six years old, Rhonda was temporarily placed with a foster family who introduced her to the lighter side of life. “They lived in a clean place. There was plenty of food, they didn’t fight with each other-I remember watching them interact with one another as though they really enjoyed being together,” Rhonda, who is now 50, said. One day the man in the foster home encouraged her to search for the meaning of her own life. “Young lady,” he said, “You better quit feeling sorry for yourself. You were put here for a reason, and you better be about finding out what it is.” The family also took her to a Christian church, where Rhonda said, “meeting Jesus was a turning point.” 

    Although she was ultimately placed back into the abusive home environment, Rhonda never forgot those people, their influence, or the role of Jesus Christ in her life. She believed that there was something more for her, something better. She discovered just what that was, when as an insurance professional, she received a thank-you note from the CEO of a children’s home. She had helped the facility keep operating by saving it thousands of dollars in insurance premiums.

    For Rhonda, that thank-you note was infused with meaning. She quit her job, started her own insurance agency, founded solely to help the people and organizations that help children. Today, she continues that work in her dream job as the National Child Welfare Specialist for Markel Insurance Company. 

    She lives with her husband of more than 20 years in a light-filled home overlooking California’s Pacific Coast and she is a loving mother and grandmother. 

    Rhonda is no longer daunted by her darkness-filled childhood, and no longer angry. “I’ve forgiven them for my abuse and neglect,” Rhonda said. “I value all my life experiences, including the bad, because I gained an understanding and empathy that could not be acquired any other way.” 

    The resourcefulness, self-reliance, and persistence that she developed to survive childhood have also helped her succeed in business and with her life’s purpose.

Start Chatting It Up

    My boyfriend has that magic ability to talk to anyone; 99% of the time, he makes a new friend, too. It is fun to watch him in action and he is definitely somebody you want to bring to parties and social occasions. 

    Be open to conversing with new people and becoming friendly with them. If you’re at a bookstore and see someone holding a book you like, strike up a conversation and ask them about it. You may make a new acquaintance or find out that they’re in the same business as you. You can network yourself, share ideas, and make connections at any time. 

    In line at the Pacific Cafe on Geary Street in San Francisco, we met a woman whose cousin from mainland China was being held in immigration detention for not having the proper paperwork. My boyfriend, who is fluent in Cantonese, was able to offer vital information to this family. You never know when you might need the help of a total stranger!

Giving Benefits the Giver, Too!

    Find joy in giving. “Altruism boosts immune function, improves our moods, and is linked, not only to a higher quality of life, but a longer one,” according to Stephen Post, at Stony Brook University. Those who help others also experience a “helper’s high” when their bodies are flooded with feel good endorphins and other natural chemicals. It’s pretty basic: when we do good, we feel good.

Be a Tourist in Your Own Town

    Go for a stroll around the city you live in. Pay attention to the little things you may have been missing, such as the architecture, the perfect picnic spot in a park, the greenery, and the people around you. Spend your money where your heart is, your own community.

Just Say Yes

    I (re)learned this truly vital lesson from Imperfect Spirituality author and blogger Polly Campbell: Once today, say “yes” to something unexpected that comes into your life. 

    Know that you are enough to handle whatever emergencies from the yes. Know that you have the whole Universe supporting you. Believe that you will have a good time and learn something that you need to know. Exercise your faith by taking the Universe up on the good things that come your way and practice your optimism by believing that there is more to come.

    Just. Say. Yes. Then take two minutes to reflect and answer these questions for yourself:

*What did you say “yes” to today?

*Were you inclined to first say “no”? Why?

*How did you feel when you said “yes”?

*What did you learn about yourself by saying “yes” to do this thing?

*What do you know now that you didn’t know before you took the leap?

Celebrate World Teachers Day

    Teaching others is hard work and can be a thankless job. Whether you are a student or have kids in school, approach a teacher and tell them what a great job they are doing. AdoptAClassroom.org goes to the head of the class in my book for the good work they do: it gives teachers a hand by providing needed classroom materials so that students can succeed.

    It is estimated that more than 15 million children don’t have the resources they need to do well in school. Teachers spend more than $1 billion a year stocking their own classrooms due to a lack of funding in schools. Supporting K-12th grade students in public, private, and charter schools, AdoptAClassroom.org makes it easy for donors to provide funding to classrooms throughout America. Teachers register their classrooms and needs online; donors discover classrooms through simple search tools, and make targeted contributions. Their goal is to connect donors with every classroom in the country. A-plus!

Do What You Say You’re Gonna Do

    Remember my friend Nancy Fish I mentioned a few pages back? This is the guiding principle of her life and it inspires me: really commit. Saying you’ll do something and actually doing it are two very different things. Commit to something you’ve been meaning to do and take the first step today. If you don’t Nancy may track you down and hold on to it!

World Smile Day!

    Flash those pearly whites! Smile as you walk past someone. Maybe it’s the barista handing you your much needed double-shot latte in the morning, your neighbor planting flowers by their lawn as you go to check your mail, or a stranger walking their dog down the street. A simple, genuine smile can brighten someone’s day as well as yours. It’s really not that difficult to do. Remember that saying about it taking more muscles to frown than smile? Well, it’s true!

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

    As we enter October, national Breast Cancer Awareness Month, be sure to schedule an appointment with your doctor to have an exam. Men need to remind their doctors, as well, as this is not just a women’s issue. Remind your close friends to do the same and schedule appointments for the same time so you can go together and give moral support. It is important for us to be educated about all forms of cancer and to take the necessary steps to stay healthy. Visit breastcancer.org to answer and questions you may have. 

    I am a breast cancer survivor and deeply grateful. I remember getting the diagnosis and just going completely numb. I was like a zombie going through the motions of my life, getting up and going to work, cooking dinner, trying to focus but all I could think was “I have cancer.” My friends and family helped me through it all. I also had a genius doctor who got me and understood that it would be a physical, emotional and spiritual journey. She was open to discussions about all that. I am lucky in so many ways, being free and clear for over a decade now. I bonded with my female physician, who asked me to stay involved in her practice as a counselor for the newly diagnosed. Each time I work with someone who has just found out they have cancer, I offer my story and all the success stories I have witnessed, while listening to their fears, dishing out lots of hugs, and helping them in any way I can. This is one of the best things I do with my life-using my wisdom to help another.