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.
Leave encouraging, inspiring, or funny notes or quotes in a library book or other random places (without littering of defiling public property). A simple note stapled to a bulletin board, taped to a column, or written in chalk on the sidewalk may influence in wonderful ways-you’ll be like a secret agent who brings happiness to others. This website has fun examples that might give you some ideas: artofgettingstarted.com
When we are on track, living close to the things we deem important-the things we value-we feel happier. This isn’t flash happiness, it isn’t the kind that lasts for a few minutes when we get a new toy, or enjoy a concert. This is the kind that lingers in the background of our lives. The kind that even in moments of sadness or frustration, never completely disappears, because if we are living a values based-life we are also living with meaning and purpose.
-Polly Campbell
Donate blood. One donation can hjelp up to four people. If that’s not inspiring enough, every three seconds, someone needs a blood transfusion due to various injuries, illness, or conditions. Donating is completely free and completely safe at bloodcenters.org. Go to the American Red Cross website (redcrossblood.org/make-donation) to find a location near you. And did you know you get cookies and juice after your donation?
Empower an entrepreneur with a loan through Kiva. You can give as little as $25 to small business owners in developing countries to help eliminate poverty.. Throughout the life of the loan, you will receive updates on the progress of the project and will be paid by the borrower with Kiva Credit-which you can use to fund another project. Through Kiva.org, I have bought some really lovely pillows, baskets, and bangle bracelets made in India by creative, hard-working women.
Eat like a Beatle! Sir Paul McCartney and many other celebrities support Meat Free Mondays. Check it out at meatlessmonday.com. The Belgian city of Ghent has instituted a Meat Free Thursday. Choose a day of the week to eat vegetarian or vegan and try to stick to this one-day diet each week. This global movement is saving water and preventing deforestation, not to mention its enormous health benefits!
Don’t buy fur, ivory, or other products derived from endangered animals. By purchasing these things, you are personally contributing to the extinction of an entire species without realizing it. And we know you don’t want to do that. Fake fur is lots more fun. If you want to know specifics about poaching or endangered species, go to worldwildlifefund.org.
Author Art Plotnik helped revive this word in his book Better Than Great: A Plenitudinous Compendium of Wallopingly Fresh Superlatives. Simply put, “ripsniptious” (rip-snip-shuss) can be used to express something or someone that is wonderful and highly spirited. Today, you will be ripsniptious and notice all of the other ripsniptious things around you. Let this be your word of the day and let it embody you-and introduce others to ripsniptious of the word ripsniptious! It’s fun to say, isn’t it? It’s even better to be it. It is also a wonderful compliment and I think you are pretty darn ripsniptious for reading this book!
Turn off your computer at night instead of leaving it on or in sleep mode, since this wastes energy. By doing so, you can save an average of 40 watt-hours per day, which adds up to four cents a day, or $14 per year (50waystohelp.com). In addition, the life of your computer will also be extended, as the amount of available time for virus contamination will be greatly reduced. This act of conservation is a great idea you should share with your office-mates.
Call your parents (or whoever raised you) and thank them for everything they did for you!
It’s that sometimes-anticipated-by-couples-yet-often-dreaded-by-singles day of the year! In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, send an anonymous letter or bouquet of flowers to someone special to you-your mom, your recently-divorced best friend. This deliberate act of kindness will last long after the 14th as the memory lingers on.
PS: A really nice thing to do the night before Valentine’s Day is to offer to watch a friend or neighbor’s children so they can run errands or spend time with their significant other.
Random Acts of Kindness Day is always the week of Valentine’s Day. I love to hear how this meaningful movement has touched others’ lives. Artist and author Peg Conley shares her thoughts:
You’ve seen those bumper stickers, the ones encouraging you to commit “random acts of kindness?” What they can’t tell you in that little space is how performing those acts can be a way of transforming yourself. When you begin to focus on extending kindness towards others, you’ll feel more kindness coming towards you. Not only will you make someone else’s day better, you’ll be surprised how well yours improves. It’s rather like the “Secret Santa” gift exchange that many offices and families adopt during the weeks leading up to Christmas. There is delight when you do something for another while keeping your identity a secret. When you watch a person receiving a surprise gift, you see their face change, the eyes open wide with delight, a smile bursting into a grin, and laughter erupting. They appear to feel sheer joy at the unexpected. The old adage is true: “It is in giving that we receive.” The other part of the quote, which is by a San Franciscan writer named Anne Herbert, is often left out: “and (practice) senseless acts of beauty.” I received a text the other day from a friend who had taken a picture with her phone of a sidewalk outside a coffee shop where she works in San Francisco. Someone had written “ It’s a beautiful day” with colored chalk on the sidewalk and adorned it with butterflies and hearts. That, to me, is a senseless act of beauty. Think how many people walked on that sidewalk that day and smiled at the childish scrawl reminding them of the beautiful day.
The Hebrew word mitzvah means a good deed or an act of kindness. Judaism teaches that the world is built on kindness. I recall what my Bubbe, a dear friend in Salt Lake City who was my son’s first caregiver, used to tell me about the importance of doing mitzvahs. She believes in the power of doing good for another person but not telling them about it. She is a perfect example of someone who practices random acts of kindness, and also one who sees and acknowledges the beauty in everyone she meets. I always feel better just by being in her presence. Entire campaigns focused on practicing random acts of kindness have sprouted up. This, along with “having an attitude of gratitude,” enriches my days in many ways. There are myriad ways you can practice random acts of kindness. Don’t forget to include yourself when you are doing them!
Whether they’re juggling many balls at once, riding a unicycle or walking on very tall stilts, youth get a chance to shine on stage with the Prescott Circus Theater in Oakland, California. This youth development non-profit provides skill mastery, physical activity, and positive relationships with peers and adults. Their website, prescottcircus.org, goes on to say “the basic principles to succeed in circus (and in life) are : hard work, teamwork, practice, believe in yourself, and never give up.” Donate to the Prescott Circus and you’ll be sure to bring many more smiles to the world.
Join the 594,740 people who have taken the It Gets Better Pledge.
Have you taken the pledge? Everyone deserves to be respected for who they are. I pledge to spread this message to my friends, family and neighbors. I’ll speak up against hate and intolerance whenever I see it, at school and at work. I’ll provide hope for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and other bullied teens by letting them know that it gets better. Sign on up at itgetsbetter.org to support LGBTQ children and help teens live a bully- free life!
Shortly after retirement, Leon Delong, a very thoughtful Seattleite, wanted to utilize his new free time and he decided to do something meaningful. When he heard that city office towers were routinely throwing away half-used rolls of toilet paper, he started gathering them and delivering them to a local food ban, where they were given to the homeless and those in financial need. Over the last 15 years , the 76-year-old delivered over one million rolls of toilet paper. “I’m amazed how much this mattered to people,” Delong said. “To me it was just a nice thing to do. Now, it’s my claim to fame.” What is your claim to fame?
When I lived in the Lower Haight neighborhood of San Francisco, I drove for a food bank for AIDS patients in my rusted-out little care I had brought all the way from West Virginia. I had arrived in the mid-eighties which we may all remember as the height of the AIDS crisis. One early morning, I was walking to the Church Street MUNI station and there was the food bank, with giant pink letters announcing itself as a place to lend a hand for the AIDS crisis. I went in and within two minutes had a shift and assignments for the week. Everyone in there seemed extremely cool to me. They were not grim at all, but seemed to have a mission of importance. It seemed such a small way to help during that scary time. I learned that regardless of what you can give, large or small, it is important to give of yourself. And it all does add up!
Feeding America is the largest hunger relief organization in the United States and they need you. Please visit feedingamerica.org to find your local food bank or hunger organization. Get involved-you’ll make a difference and you’ll make friends along the way. I sure did, and they remain my friends to this day.
My favorite kinds of gifts are the ones that keep on giving. The FEED Project has many cool options that are made in America and crafted with love and pride. A beautifully carved cutting board for your best friend’s birthday from FeedProjects.com will not only impress them but help feed the hungry. I love their FEED bags, which are a handy way to ditch the plastic and the paper, too.
Upon learning about the Veteran’s History Project, I was reminded that our servicemen and women are doing just that: service. And they should be thanked for it. Many of these noble souls are very far away on active duty and receive little mail to their camp or barrack. Take a few moments to acknowledge their contribution and offer a friendly hello back home in the USA. You can learn all about Operation Write Home at operationwritehome.gov. I have heard of great pen pal relationships that result from this gesture of gratitude.
We all remember the Biblical parable about teaching a man to fish so he can provide for himself and his family. Two thousand years later, we can do exactly this. My dad taught me how to fish in a pond back home on the farm in West Virginia. Even as a seven-year-old, I noticed that we not only got a couple of day’s worth of yummy trout for our efforts but my papa, a former Marine with many battle scars, seemed to relax after an afternoon at the pond. You can gift a $49 fishing kit in a loved one’s name or set up a recurring monthly donation at Action Against Hunger ( ActionAgainstHunger.org), which feeds over 7 million people each year. Go fish!
When I worked on the Random Acts Of Kindness project, we looked around for places to donate profits from the books and Share Our Strength came highly recommended. It remains an organization I deem to be a real good in the world. Did you know one in five children live in a home that struggles to put food on the table? Join SOS’s campaign nokidhungry.org so we can take care of those who need it most.
