Little kindnesses can mean the most

“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 kindnesses 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. 

A letter means more than any email

Please, Mr. Postman

Look into a pen pal! Talking to someone in a foreign land—whether it be a soldier, fellow student, or long-lost relative—can really help you gain perspective and will provide support to the person you are writing to. Check out this website for more details on how to find a pen pal http://www.penpalworld.com Letter writing is more meaningful than an email or text so this beautifully old-fashioned tradition will bring lasting enjoyment to you and your pal.

The lungs of the planet

Tropical rainforests take in vast quantities of carbon dioxide (a poisonous gas which mammals exhale) and through the process of photosynthesis, converts 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 2% 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 (refer to the entries below to see, quantitatively, what that translates into). That’s an area more than twice the size of Florida that goes up in smoke every year!

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

Earn an Advanced Degree in Giving

I count myself very lucky indeed to know the world’s only Jollytologist, Allen Klein. The story of how he came to have this distinction astounds me. Ever hear of a “Jollytologist”? Well meet the world’s one and only—Allen Klein. Through his books and his presentations, Klein shows people worldwide how to deal with everything from traffic jams. Klein got into this unusual line of work after his wife died of a rare liver disease at the age of 34. He saw how humor helped her, and those around her, cope. He also saw how humor helped him get through that loss. He now teaches others how to find some in trying times. Those audiences include people in 48 states as well as Israel and Australia, and clients from IBM to the IRS. Comedian Jerry Lewis has said that Allen Klein is “a noble and vital force watching over the human condition.” I agree with Jerry Lewis and would add that Allen Klein makes the world a better place. Every day.

If you teach a man to fish

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 and, even as a 7 year-old, I could not help but notice that we not only got a couple day’s worth of yummy trout for our efforts but my papa, a former Marine with many battle scars to show for it, seemed so relaxed after an afternoon at the pond. You can gift in a loved one’s name a $49 fishing kit or up to $100 for a daily goat to Action against Hunger (www, ActionAgainstHunger.org), which feeds over 7 million, people each year. Go fish!

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.”

Global warming isn’t the only environmental nightmare that scientists are struggling to solve.

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, claims to “have invented a method to clean up almost half of the great Pacific’s garbage patch in just 10 years, using currents to [his] advantage.”

The self-described environmentalist and entrepreneur first presented his revolutionary ideas at a TEDx Talk in the Netherlands and was recently named one of Intel’s 20 Most Promising Young Entrepreneurs Worldwide (Intel EYE50).

Slat first became aware of the problem while diving in Greece, frustrated that he was “coming across more plastic bags than fish.”

He asked himself, “Why can’t we clean this up?”

At least one million birds and another 100,000 marine mammals die each year from the plastic, and a number of species risk extinction due to the massive amounts of plastic circulating the oceans.

Economically, marine debris costs an estimated $1.27 billion annually in fishing and vessel damage on America’s Pacific coastal waters.

Did you know today is National Solo Vacation Day?

Go on vacation by yourself. 

If that sounds a shocking idea, it shouldn't be at all. 

Pick a town, state, or country that you have always wanted to go to and go there, alone! Think about it: you can make your own schedule, wake up when you want, stay out, stay in, and eat what you feel like… This is your chance at making a memory that will last you a lifetime and add to the story of your life. 

Don't forget to send postcards!