Go Forth and See the World

I am reminded of the peripatetic Phil Cousineau that travel is a very important tool for lasting happiness and creating memories to savor over a lifetime. Phil, author of essential guides to making travel meaningful The Art of Pilgrimage and The Book of Roads, says it is important to “go out of your way,” and meet people that are native to the place you’re visiting. He also reminds us to give gifts, simple tokens from your homeland, and gestures of goodwill that will be returned a thousandfold.

Over 2,000 years ago, the sage Lao Tzu remarked, “The longest journey starts with a single step.” Phil says to use “the eyes of the heart” when traveling to learn something about yourself and the wide world around you. Here are some of Phil’s recommended practices for making travel meaningful:

  Imagine your first memorable journey. What images rise up in your soul? They may be a childhood visit to the family gravesite, the lecture your uncle gave at a famous battlefield, or the hand-in-hand trip with your mother to a religious site. What feelings are evoked by your enshrined travel memories? Do they have any connection with your life today? Have you ever made a vow to go someplace that is sacred to you, your family, your group? Have you ever imagined yourself in a place that stirred your soul like the song of doves at dawn? If not you, then who?If not now, when? If not here, where? Paris? Benares? Memphis? -Uncover what you long for and you will discover who you are.

Say My Name

When meeting new people, make an effort to remember their name so that when you address them, it’s more personal, respectful, and will make a good impression on them. Everyone is important. When you see them the next time, greet them by name. So simple, so nice.

Earth Hour Day

Participate in Earth Hour Day today, beginning at 8.30pm in the United States, and turn off all the lights in your home for one hour. Earth Hour (earthhour.org) unites millions of people around the world and gives them the hope that together we can make a difference.Take this hour to sit with your significant other or invite some pals over for a candlelit evening of togetherness. Just be. Together.

I Love Big Bags and In cannot Lie

Bring reusable shopping bags when heading to the store. Whether you are grocery shopping or heading out with friends to splurge on clothes, take your own bags with you. Many stores have totes and reusable bags for a few dollars by the checkout lines that are more durable, hold more objects, and last much longer than those flimsy paper and non-biodegradable plastic bags. Reusable shopping bags help the environment by using less plastic and cutting down fewer trees.

Share Your Hair

Do you have long hair, or don’t mind growing it out for a good cause? Donate to Locks of Love, a group truly contributing to the good of others. Visit their website at locksoflove.org for more information. I recently read of a five-year-old girl who gave her hair to a fellow kindergartner going through chemo. With kids like her in the world, our future is bright!

Power Down

Switch off lights when you leave a room, don’t leave the faucet running if you’re not actively using it, use energy-saving light bulbs, opt for blankets over turning on the heater and choose portable fans over air conditioning… All of these will lower your utility bills and help preserve the planet. It just makes cents (get it?). If every household in the United States replaced one regular light bulb with one of those new compact fluorescent bulbs, the pollution reduction would be equivalent to removing one million cars from the road.

The Healing Power of Touch

Be a baby cuddler. According to this excellent guide for volunteers at volunteerguide.org/hours/service-projects/baby-cuddlers, “Baby cuddlers are needed in orphanages, neonatal hospital units, group homes, nurseries, and wherever else there are babies and young children who may not have adequate human contact early in life to begin developing social interaction skills.” What could be better than helping a baby survive and thrive?

Welcome to the World!

Assemble a baby care kit to help young mothers in need with newborns. Visit the Church World Service website for information on what to pack and where to send the shipment at  cwsglobal.org/get-involved/cws-kits/baby-care-kits.html

Use Your Common Cents

Lend a helping hand. Next time the person in front of you in line at the cash register is short a few cents, give them the amount they need.

The Best Kind of Social Networking

Help the elderly with their devices. Many senior citizens aren’t tech-savvy, but given that we live in a technologically advancing society, learning how to use a computer or the Internet can be very helpful. Volunteer your assistance to a senior who has a cell phone or computer and needs help using it. Be email buddies with your new friends, too!

Be a Visionary

Did you know your old specs can have a second act? Old prescription eyeglasses can be donated to a LensCrafters store. Every LensCrafters business supports OneSight, which provides glasses to millions of people around the globe. Learn more at lenscrafters.com/onesight.

The Little Things Count

Do little things for others, like holding the door open and letting someone go before you, or allowing the person with only one item go ahead of you at the grocery store. I think due to our over-busyness nowadays, so many people rush through life and don’t consider the feelings of others. A simple gesture can be a good reminder for us all, myself included. Take your time, look around you, and ask yourself, how can I help someone today? In the end, you are helping yourself just as much.

A Book Can Change Your Life

Give someone a copy of a book that has helped or influenced you-it may have a similar effect on them. I actually keep a stock of books that I love on hand to do just that and have recently gifted a few copies of The Power Of Habit by Charles Duhigg. Give it a read.

Use Your Words

I read all the time as a child, and by that I mean every minute I wasn’t at school, doing chores or homework, or sleeping, I had the cover of a book open. I developed a love of language that has lasted me a lifetime.I notice that it brings joy to others when they hear an interesting or pretty word. So try flipping through a dictionary every day and pick a word. Use this word at least once in the same day. This will help expand your vocabulary and communicate better with others. If you have a smartphone, download a free word-of-the-day app instead of using a dictionary. Help feed a child by adding a definition to the Online Dictionary on definition-of.com.

Be a Good Samaritan

Did you know this is National Samaritan Involvement Day? Now you do, and I have no doubt you can immediately be helpful to someone, somewhere. Doing a favor for someone without expecting something in return is the epitome of kindness and will earn you some karma points down the line (though you shouldn’t do this with the expectation of any!) Sometimes helping others is the best way to help yourself. Anytime one of my friends is singing the blues, I will say, “Let’s go serve some beans down at Glide Memorial! You’ll stop feeling sorry for yourself in the first 60 seconds”

Make Amends

It’s never too late to say you’re sorry. Apologise to someone you wronged in the past, especially if you stopped communicating because of the issue. By admitting fault and letting them know how sorry you are to have hurt them, you are taking responsibility for your actions and proving that you care enough for them to make things right. However bad you felt over the problem, you will feel five times better after making peace.

Stop World Hunger with Ten Grains of Rice a Day

Save a few dollars each month and donate it to a different charity. One great option for your donation is through freerice.com. For each correct answer in their online quizzes, they donate ten grains of rice to the World Food Program to help end world hunger. Think about how much rice will be donated if even half of the population did this!

Lessen the Landfill in Your Daily Decisions

Diaper with a conscience. By the time a child is potty trained, a parent will have changed between 5,000 and 8,000 diapers, adding up to approximately 3.5 million tons of waste in US landfills each year. Whether you use cloth or a more environmentally friendly disposable alternative, you’re making a choice that has a gentler impact on the planet.

Share the Positive

When you read an online article that you found helpful, moving, or enlightening, take a  moment to leave a positive comment at the bottom of the page. Acknowledge the writer for their style or content, or even add some additional information that you have about the topic. The writer-and other readers- may appreciate what you have to say. If it inspires you, share it too. I started subscribing to lifehack.org and every morning, I come in to read some truly excellent and uplifting ideas in my inbox. I share the very best ones and have heard from Facebook friends and fellow Tweeps that they love ‘em. So as the old saying goes, accentuate the positive! 

Don’t Be Judgemental; Be Kind Just because You Can

“Contagious Optimist” Colleen Georges taught me this: It’s easy to judge others for their actions and take for granted those we love or meet in chance encounters. We sometimes get so caught up in our busy-ness that we forget others are busy too, they have rough days just like us, and they benefit from our kindness just as we do theirs. Go out of your way to smile at strangers, say good morning, say thank you, give a compliment, and listen attentively to someone who needs your ear. Do it because you can, because it feels great, because it makes someone else feel good. Don’t worry about a subsequent thank you; let a thank you be a beautiful perk, rather than an expectation.

Save the Rainforest

Tropical rainforests take in vast amounts of carbon dioxide (a poisonous gas which mammals exhale) and through the process of photosynthesis, convert it into clean, breathable air. In fact, the tropical rainforests are the single greatest terrestrial source of air that we breathe.

What’s truly amazing, however, is that while the tropical rainforests cover just over two percent of the Earth’s land surface, they are home to two-thirds of all the living species on the planet. Additionally, nearly half the medicinal compounds we use every day come from plants endemic to the tropical rainforest. If a cure for cancer or the common cold is to be found, it’ll almost certainly come from the tropical rainforests.

Tragically, the tropical rainforests are being destroyed at an alarming rate. According to Rainforest Action Network, more than an acre-and-a-half is lost every second of every day. That’s an area more than twice the size of Florida that goes up in smoke every year!

According to savetherainforest.org, “If present rates of destruction continue, half our remaining rainforests will be gone by the year 2025, and by 2060 there will be no remaining rainforests remaining.”

Let’s Not Contribute to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch

I don’t know about you, but photos of the big patch of plastic and garbage floating in the ocean scares me more than almost anything else. Nearly 90% of plastic bottles are not recycled, instead taking thousands of years to decompose. If you are used to toting around your green tea, juice, or iced coffee in plastic, get a cool-looking thermos instead. This is a great choice for the environment, your wallet, and possibly your health.You can guzzle as much as you want and still be green.

Inspiration into Action

 

Some inspiration for the rest of your week:

The only way to have a friend is to be one.

    - Ralph Waldo Emerson