If you are anything like me, this is the time of year you suddenly realize you don’t have enough flutes and glasses to properly toast in the New Year. Why add to the already burgeoning mounds of recycling or, God forbid, landfill? The cool company Refresh Glass (refreshglass.com) creates pretty and eco-efficient drinking glasses from rescued wine bottles. Cheers!
Instead of just another holiday party, have friends over and state what you are grateful for in the world and about each other. Take note!
The holidays can be an intensely lonely time. I remember when I first arrived in San Francisco and really had nowhere to go. Kindly folks invited me to Thanksgiving and Christmas, and I made new friends, ate marvelous dinners, and was so grateful. I try to do the same now that I have a home I can share. Look around and see whom you can invite over. This is a lovely tradition among my group of friends and is, I truly believe, what the holidays are really supposed to be about.
Now that you and your family have celebrated, eaten to your heart’s content, and opened presents, ask if everyone likes their gifts and if they will use them. If there is something that doesn’t fit or isn’t useful, donate it. I remember when people were shocked that FLOTUS Nancy Reagan re-gifted but I think was just ahead of the curve!
If your heart and wallet have different ideas about making monetary donations, it is time to summon your inner re-gifter. An unwanted gift could be a welcome donation to a charitable organization. For help selecting a charitable organization, visit the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance at give.org. You can also contact the government office responsible for registering charities in your state. A little research upfront will make sure your donation is put to good use. If the process of selecting a charity seems daunting, remember that you benefit from giving as well.
Involving your children in the selection of a charity teaches valuable lessons. You have the opportunity to make a difference. Some charitable gifts are tax-deductible if made to a qualified organization. But be sure your organization meets IRS guidelines, as there may be different tax breaks when you donate certain assets to charity.
Start a conversation with someone of a different culture, religion, or political view, while actively listening and responding. Becoming aware of someone else’s standpoints and personal journeys may enlighten how you think.
Nowadays, people of different vantage points need to realize that we may worship differently but we are people all the same. Be accepting and show it. This time of year, so many different cultures celebrate the turn of the year in ways unique to their traditions. Why not find out more about these festivities and even attend some? It’s a small world, after all, right?
“Tis the season to...spend more time with those you love! Instead of sequestering yourselves in separate rooms watching television, playing video games, or browsing the Internet, call all family members into the same room and do something together. Play a board game, watch a movie, have everyone contribute to making dinner, then roast marshmallows in the fireplace. Or maybe chestnuts. Ho ho!
Millions of tons of plastic waste litter the world’s oceans, converging together in rotating currents called gyres and blanketing the water’s surface. On average, these gyres now hold six times more plastic than plankton by dry weight. Fortunately, 19-year-old Boyan Slat, founder and president of the Ocean Cleanup (theoceancleanup.com), wanted to invent “a method to clean up almost half of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in just 10 years, using currents.” The youthful environmentalist and entrepreneur presented this revolutionary idea at a TEDx Talk in the Netherlands and was recently named one of Intel’s 20 Most Promising Young Entrepreneurs Worldwide.
For some people, health, time, and logistical restraints mean donating blood isn’t possible. But blood donation isn’t the only way to support organizations like the Red Cross. Along with financial donations, the Red Cross also accepts airline miles and credit card rewards. Easily transferable from your computer, these sorts of donations don’t cost you anything but can still make a difference.
Since you might not get to see your close friends much in the next few days due to family gatherings, shopping for gifts, and getting over colds, invite them over for a holiday potluck. Spending time with friends is a great pick-me-up and now is a good time to show your gratitude for the people in your life. To make it even more fun, choose a theme for your party, such as tacky Christmas sweaters.
Libraries are just as much a community hub as any coffee house or breakfast joint. Your patronage will make a difference! Nowadays, libraries host events, offer free classes, and are a place we can go for some nice quiet time with a book or magazine. To me, they are as holy as shrines.
Jollytologist Allen Klein shares this beautiful story:
When I was a hospice volunteer, one of the patients I was assigned to look after was an elderly woman who loved classical music. For many years, she, her son, and her daughter had season symphony tickets. But she was way too ill to use them now. Her prognosis was only a few weeks left to live.
I discussed the situation with the hospice team and how we might get her to a concert. Perhaps we could put her in a wheelchair or even on a gurney and have her at the back of the theater. But in her condition, we realized that that would not work.
Then I had an idea. I called the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, one of the leading schools in the country, and asked if they had a student who might volunteer to play something for a dying woman. A few days later, they sent over a very talented young woman, a violinist, who gave a private performance for the patient and her family.
I wasn’t at the apartment at the time but from what the daughter told me the next day, it was glorious. She said that after the intimate living room recital, her mother told her, “In all my years of going to the symphony, that was the best concert I have ever attended.”
Ring bells and help raise money for people in need. The Red Kettle Christmas Campaign enables the Salvation Army to provide food, toys and clothing to over six million people during the Christmas season and helps more than 34 million Americans recovering from all kinds of personal disasters nationwide. The Red Kettle campaign, first started in San Francisco in 1891, has traditionally been the Salvation Army’s most prominent fund-raiser.” For more information and to find out where you can volunteer, go to ringbells.org.
Santa Claus came early to a Pennsylvania retailer recently. In December 2014, an anonymous man walked into a store and told the manager he wanted to donate $50,000 to help pay off customer layaway accounts. “We made him say it twice,” said store manager Steve Meyers. “When we started telling customers, they thought it might be a joke.” The donor, who asked to be known as Santa B.,arrived just in time, as unfulfilled layaway orders were set to be cancelled that day. “He just wanted to bring Christmas cheer to everyone,” Meyers said. “He was in and out, kind of like Santa Claus.”
Buy an artificial Christmas tree. People love my blue and silver disco tree which I got at a yard sale a few years ago. It is very festive! On average, over 30 million Christmas trees are sold in the United States each year-those are trees we could be saving and using for oxygen, housing material, and paper products rather than as decoration for a small amount of time. When you purchase an artificial tree, you will save money within the first few years and they look just as nice without the mess of pine needles! For more information on the history of the Christmas tree, go to urbanext.illinois.edu/trees/facts.cfm.
When Jaime Finkel, assistant to music manager Scott Rodger, began working at Maverick in Beverly Hills, she noticed there was a lot of unclaimed “merch” in the office. The newly-founded company, which is composed of nine of music’s top managers-who collectively manage more than two dozen of the planet’s biggest artists, including Madonna, Paul McCartney, Miley Cyrus, Pharrell Williams, Alicia Keys, Arcade Fire, and U2-is at the forefront of major changes taking place in the music industry today.
Instead of throwing away the excess and unwanted tour products and unsolicited gifts, Jaime initiated a Merch Box. Every month, she selects an organization to donate these items to. It seems like a natural match since for every celebrity and wanna-be star in Hollywood there is a person in need, but no one had thought to do this before. It’s as simple as setting up a bin in your office lunchroom and creating a sign that reads “For Charity.”
Use your flower power: go to the local discount store and pick up some small vases. Add a ribbon, some freshly picked flowers, and deliver the arrangements to elders at a local community center, nurses in the ER, or anywhere you know people can use little random acts of roses.
Make plans to go to a local nursing home and visit an elderly resident who hasn’t gotten a visitor lately. Receiving extra one-on-one attention can be very rewarding for the resident and you’ll be surprised how interesting their life is once you start talking to them. Especially with the holiday’s coming, think of those who might not have family nearby who would love good company at this time of year. Nine times out of ten, you will end up receiving much more than you give to these elders, who have wisdom, stories, advice, and love to offer.
Not many things will ruin your day quite like getting pulled over by the police. But when police in Lowell, Michigan, recently stopped 50 drivers for minor violations, the surprised motorists wound up getting their Christmas wishes instead of traffic tickets. Officer Scot VanSolkema chatted with the not-so-happy drivers, asking what they or their kids wanted for Christmas. Unbeknownst to anyone else, his buddies waited in a nearby shop, listening via radio before rushing to buy, wrap, and deliver whatever the drivers had named, including toys, an Xbox, and a high-definition TV. Said one happy driver: “This just turned my bad day into a good one.”
Have a friend or loved one that wants something unique for Christmas? Visit heifer.org to view and purchase some of the most helpful and generous gifts that can be given- but they don’t fit in a box and they won’t arrive on your friend’s doorstep.
Heifer International is an organization that works with communities to end hunger and poverty by providing sustainable agriculture and animals to families in need. You can “purchase” a goat for $120, a flock of geeses for $20, or a hope basket for $50, or browse the website for other options. These gifts are priceless (figuratively) and won’t go unappreciated or unused. Think about the positive impact you can make on a family-a world difference, actually!
HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, has become one of the world’s most serious health and developmental challenges. In the United States alone, 1.7 million people are estimated to have the HIV virus. According to aids.gov, 33.4 million people are living with the HIV/AIDS virus globally and more than 25 million deaths resulted in the virus worldwide since the first reported cases in 1981. Educate yourself and your family about this epidemic, promote safe behaviour, and consider volunteering some of your time toward helping those infected.
AmfAR’s “Countdown to a Cure for AIDS” is a research initiative aimed at finding a broadly applicable cure for HIV. “Countdown to a Cure” is designed to intensify amfAR’s (amFar.org) cure-focused HIV research program with plans to strategically invest $100 million in cure research over the next six years.
Adopting an animal is a serious commitment. For those who aren’t able to adopt, but still want to make a difference in the life of an abandoned animal, fostering is an excellent alternative.
There are many foster programs that give at-and-dog-lovers the chance to provide interim housing for displaced pets who have yet to find their forever home. Many of these foster programs cover food and medical expenses, meaning all you have to worry about is giving your furry guest a safe and loving place to stay. And who knows? You might just fall in love.
Be an active listener. When someone else is speaking, it is easy to become distracted by thoughts and external sounds, such as a car horn or other nearby conversations-and by giving in to these distractions you can miss crucial details from the speaker. Let the person who is talking know that you are listening by making eye contact and focusing on the sound of their voice rather than the distractions around you. Additionally, don’t interrupt someone when they are speaking. Listen, then respond. Quite often, people are not looking to be “fixed”-they truly just want to be heard.
As the old Jimmy Durante song goes, “make someone happy.” A thoughtful, hand-written letter will do that every time! If you make just one someone happy, you will be happy too.
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| https://tgijp.org/ |
Staffed entirely by transgender folks, the TGI Justice Project (tgip.org) has been dedicated to supporting transgender people both inside and outside of prison since 2003 Devoted to forging “a culture of resistance and resilience to strengthen us for the fight against imprisonment, police violence, racism, poverty, and societal pressures,” TGIP answers prison letters from transgender, gender non-conforming, and intersex prisoners. It also provides resources, funding, and support to low-income transgender women of color who are in prison, formaly incarcerated, or targeted by the police, and their families.
Helmed by Executive Director Miss major, the legendary transgender rights advocate who has been an activist since before the Stonewall Riots of 1969, the TGI Justice Project describes itself as seeking to “create a world rooted in self-determination, freedom of expression, and gender justice.”
Volunteer was never a word in her vocabulary. Not that Lee Grant didn’t know what it meant, but it wasn’t something she would ever think about doing. Feeling unloved as a child left her self-centered, angry, and needy. As far as Lee was concerned, the world owed her. But it was hard to get to know the world, as small as hers was. Sheltered and sequestered in a small coastal community in rural New England, she knew little about the daily lives of regular people with regular families, but enough to know that hers wasn’t like theirs. “Bad things happened in my house,” she said, “and I never understood why, because I was afraid to ask.”
Throughout her teen and young adult years, Lee used drugs and alcohol to transport herself, begging attention from anyone and everyone. Chemicals seemed to work in the short haul, but eventually they led to more destructive behaviors: setting fires, shoplifting, drunk driving, punching through plate glass windows. Cutting helped drain her pent up self-loathing and relieved her. Sutures and butterfly bandages briefly put her back together, but after so many years and so many scars, self-mutilation wasn’t working. After three weeks in an institution for attempted suicide, she was ready to try something differnt.
One day, out of the blue, Lee was invited into a knit shop filled with happy, loving people and found a passion and joy she never knew before. “I made things with my hands and felt good about myself. I entered an afghan in the county fair and won a blue ribbon. I joined AA and stopped drinking. I found a community of creative people who accepted me and my knitting and that, along with sober living, brought the attention I craved. But still...something was missing,”she said. She noticed she felt best when she shared her knowledge of knitting and making other people happy brought a new kind of satisfaction.
On a whim, Lee volunteered to teach knitting classes to kids for the local Santa Rosa chapter of Catholic Charities (CatholicCharities.org). She wanted to find out if knitting would make a difference to them like it did for her. She wanted to give them something they could turn to when life got too scary, or complicated, or boring...something they could turn to for comfort or fun. She gave them sticks and string and direction. She gave them an opportunity to feel accomplished and proud. She gave them a piece of herself and found out what she’d been missing.
Lee began to care about other people. “I taught families at a homeless shelter to knit. I taught a group of foster teens. I crocheted for battered women and premature babies. I knitted warm hats for cold-headed cancer patients I would never get to know.
“All of this giving changes me. I feel good inside. No longer hollow and self-centered, I feel something akin to love. For others. For myself. For who I am. For what I do.” Lee is not just any knitter; she is tremendously gifted and tremendously generous. She is the author of several books, including Love in Every Stitch, and is a sought-after pattern designer. Go to her Facebook page, “Knitting and Healing With Lee Grant,” or you can find her at a shelter with a lot of bright, beautiful skeins of yarn and a bunch of happy kids, doing what she does best.
I asked Lee to sum up how it was that she came to “be a good in the world.”
“I blame it on volunteering,” she said.
In early 2010, in the small village of Nshupu, Tanzania, nine malnourished orphans were sleeping on a cement floor without even a blanket or sufficient food. Four years later, these children have a lovely new permanent home, are attending school, and have welcomed six more orphans to their family. Their home also serves as a village community center that hosts, among other things, a weekly women’s empowerment group that has created a savings and loan program for impoverished single mothers and widows. There is also a kindergarten program that serves 70 village children annually, including feeding them regular meals. All these endeavors are shepherded by PreciousProject.org, which explains on their website, “Though lack of education is a leading cause of poverty, Tanzanian schools are not free. Attendance even at the primary school level requires the ability to pay for school uniforms, meals, materials, equipment, fees, and other expenses. As a result, there are children who are unable to even receive a primary education. Our goal is to help break the cycle of poverty by providing educational opportunities for orphans and other high-risk children.”
Today we should all make a greater effort to support the welfare of the children of the world. Participate in a charity, organization, or activity that promotes the welfare of children such as Save The Children, UNICEF, Global Movement for Children, Childreach International, Children’s Defense Fund, and any others you may find.
“We were all children once. And we all share the desire for the well-being of our children, which has always been and will continue to be the most universally cherished aspiration of humankind.”
-We The Children, At The World Summit For children Report Of The Secretary- General
1. Be grateful and recognise the things others have done to help you.
2. When you say, “Thank you,” to someone, it signals what you appreciate and why you appreciate it.
3. Post a “Thank you to all” on your Facebook page on your blog, or send individual emails to friends, family, or colleagues.
4. Send a handwritten thank-you note. These are noteworthy because so few of us take time to write and mail them.
5. Think thoughts of gratitude-two or three good things that happened today-and notice calm settle through your head, at least for a moment. It activates a part of the brain that floods the body with endorphins, or feel-good hormones.
6. Remember the ways your life has been made easier or better because of others’ efforts. Be aware of and acknowledge the good things, large and small, going on around you.
7. Keep a gratitude journal to list the people or things you’re grateful for today. The list may start out short, but it will grow as you notice more of the good things around you.
8. Being grateful shakes you out of self-absorption and helps you recognize those who’ve done wonderful things for you. Expressing that gratitude continues to draw those people into your sphere.
9. Remember this thought from Maya Angelou: “When you learn, teach; when you get, give.”
10. Join forces to do good. If you have survived illness or loss, you may want to reach out to others to help as a way of showing gratitude for those who reached out to you.
I learned from my globetrotting friend Santosh that one of the nicest things a traveler can do is to learn how to say the basics in the language of the locals. He stressed that saying “thank you” is the most important phrase of all. His guide to global gratitude is below:
Arabic: Shukran
Czech: Dekuji
Danish: Tak
Dutch: Dank u
Estonian:Tanan teid
Filipino: Salamat
Finnish: Kiitos
French: Merci
German: Danke
Hungarian: Koszonom
Indonesian: Terima kasih
Irish: Go raibh maith agat
Italian: Grazie
Japanese: Arigato
Latvian: Paldies
Norwegian: Takk
Polish: Dziekuje
Portuguese: Obrigado
Romanian: Multumesc
Spanish: Gracias
Swahili: Asante
Swedish: Tack
Vietnamese: Cam o’n ban
Welsh: Diolch yn fawr
According to 50 Ways to Help the Planet (50waystohelp.com), “Recycled glass reduces related air pollution by 20% and related water pollution by 50%. If it isn’t recycled it can take a million years to decompose….20 recycled aluminum cans could be made with the energy it takes to manufacture one brand new one. Every ton of glass recycled saves the equivalent of nine gallons of fuel oil needed to make glass from virgin materials.
Holding the elevator: a simple yet kind idea. If you are inside an elevator and see someone approaching as the doors close, hold the doors open to let them in. You might make a nice connection and the person will appreciate this gesture. Rack up those karma points.
Use Goodsearch.com to search the Internet, play games, or answer survey questions. This for- profit company donates a portion of all advertising revenue to charity (50% of revenue or one cent for each search).
After a wedding or party, donate all the flowers to a nursing home or hospital. Alternately, take them to your place of work and fill the entire office with beauty and love.
When we begin a daily practice of recognizing the positive events that occur and the pleasant encounters we have with others, we will start being more thankful as the days pass. Perhaps it’s someone who holds the door for you at the supermarket, the nice conversation you have with a stranger while at the coffee shop, or a hug with someone you love. These are the small moments, and often the ones we forget. Savor their beauty and what they tell you about mankind-that we do live among many good people.
Simply reframe your perception: each of us has had dreams that for one reason or another, we do not achieve. And we may have made choices that perhaps were not the best. Yet, rather than allowing regret to overtake us, we must celebrate all the other goals we’ve accomplished and positive choices we’ve made.
Human nature so often leads us to perceive the one negative in a sea of positives. But we can retrain ourselves to learn the lessons embedded in our mistakes, and allow ourselves to feel pride in the beauty we are capable of. All it takes is a little shift. You’ll see.
My boyfriend is first-generation American Chinese, an “ABC”. His family was unable to vote or even own property until the Civil Rights Act was passed in the sixties. He tells his children to “make it count” and passionately follows local, national and international events and politics. Get educated about the governance of your own neighborhood in addition to the national political landscape. Exercise your right to vote. Voting is a sacred right that is one of the most important parts of our political system. Be informed about what is going on in your country, know what ideas you support and are against, and vote on each Election Day to speak for the public-you will be heard.
You know how certain memories sometimes remain crystal clear as though they are trapped in the amber of your consciousness?. While I don’t know nearly enough about how the brain works, I suspect these shards of memory that stay with us are some of the most important events of our lives to be pondered upon for all that they contain. They might be teachable moments for us to draw upon. While the neuroscience aspects allude me, I do know this memory is a life lesson:
My besties and I like to have a cup of tea now and again, the fancy kind with tea cakes, cupcakes, and cookies that are almost too beautiful to eat. During my decade in the Lower Haight, my dear friends and I got together once a month, taking turns at each other’s houses. I was excited to be hosting one lovely spring day and planned everything to the tee-lemon bars with lime icing, mini cupcakes with icing that looked like lace, and my favorite black and white cookies, chocolate on one side, vanilla on the other. I even had brightly colored paper napkins with sassy wild women quotes on them.
I was working in Berkeley and living in San Francisco, which meant that just getting across the Bay Bridge was going to be an adventure. On this day, it was going to be a miracle. I was terrified my friends would be standing at the front door, stamping their nicely shod feet, waiting for me as I navigated the traffic. I surrendered to it, knowing my anxiety would not change a thing. Plus, I had my secret weapon-the nicest array of confections ever. How could they be mad at me when they were being served stunningly beautiful cookies on napkins that reminded them they are fabulous?
Finally, my lane of traffic oozed off the Fremont exit into downtown San Francisco. I was going to bust one of my special moves and drive down a one-way arterial to avoid the clogged streets. To do that, I had to drive past the Transbay Terminal, one of the most desolate and derelict spots in all the greater bay Area. I was chugging along and feeling good about my bag of goodies, when I was stopped again by a Muni bus that appeared to be lumbering along at maybe three miles per hour. But I still had my special treats and my confidence remained intact.
I looked to my left and a mother and her toddler were standing on the raised median about two feet away from my car. She looked to be not much older than a teenager herself, and had a big bruise on her cheek and a frightened look. Her little boy was hugging her knee, trying to stay warm in the arctic wind that blasts San Francisco as soon as the sun sets. I smiled at them and she smiled back, and I saw then that she was missing at least one tooth. In this moment, I just knew she had run away from an abusive home and was getting herself and her son to safety. I also knew in that moment that they needed money. I scrambled around in my messy purse but could only find a five-dollar bill, as I had spent all my cash on the sweets. I grabbed the pretty paper bag filled with boxes of delicacies and shoved it into her hands along with the wadded up bill. The look on her face was what will stay with me a lifetime. She was surprised, and the stress drained out of her face and I could see how pretty she was. The bus shot forward and I had to drive away but I managed to shout back at her, “These are the best cookies in the world, so everything is going to be okay!” I looked in the rearview mirror and saw her bend down. She opened a box and lovingly fed her little boy one of my treasured black and whites. They were laughing and her son was even dancing around. My heart lifted as I drove away. I was especially pleased that this young woman was going to be reminded about her fabulousness by sassy paper napkins.
My girlfriends and I microwaved popcorn that night but nobody minded. We also ended up having a much deeper and richer discussion about real things, no shop or shopping talk, no boyfriend problems. We talked about how lucky we were and ways we could give back to the world.
It is funny how I knew those cookies were going to save the night. I guess I just didn’t know whose.
Physical touch is essential for the physical, psychological, and emotional health of human beings. Massage in particular has been shown to help fight depression, decrease blood pressure and cortisol levels, and boost white blood cell counts. It’s safe, all natural, and even a lovely way to care for a friend who is ailing. Best-case scenario-trade massages!
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.
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.
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.
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 barbeque meal.
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.
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.
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!
Be punctual. Arrive on time to events. It’s polite and professional, and you don’t want to keep others waiting for you.
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!
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.
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.
