A Litter of Love

June is the ASPCA’s Adopt-A-Shelter-Cat month. Millions of cats roam our streets. Some are looking for a kind person to take them in and give them a new home. This population swells at this time of year since shelters are overflowing with all the kittens born during the springtime. Shelter cats make excellent companions. However, just as cats give people love and companionship, humans need to care for their cat and provide her with an appropriate loving home. Careful research and planning is the key to adopting the right cat for your family, since adopting one should never be an impulse decision and indoor felines can live up to 20 years.

Your Goals Will Grow You

Make a list of short-term goals you would like to achieve by the end of the year, month, or even week. As you accomplish your goals, give gratitude for the effort, inspiration, people, and other factors that helped you along the way. My goal is to see how I can give more to those around me, near and far. I would love to hear your inspirations!

Get Out of Your head and Back Into Your Heart

Because the world we exist in today is very much about staying in your head, many of us have to make a concentrated effort to become grounded and in touch with our bodies and the natural world around us. Grounding is a technique for centering yourself within your being. Grounding is the way we can reconnect and balance ourselves through the power of the element of earth. When you see someone driving past talking on their cell phone, you know that they are not grounded. For deep grounding, we recommend a creative visualization or, better yet, a group guided meditation.

This is the simplest of rituals, one you can do every day of your life. As you walk, take the time to look and really see what is in your path. For example, my friend Eileen takes a bag with her and picks up every piece of garbage in her path. She does this as an act of love for the earth. During the ten years she practiced this ritual, she has probably turned a mountain of garbage into recycled glass, paper, and plastic. Eileen is very grounded. She is also a happy person who shares joy with all in her path.

Service

“To Be of Use,” Marge Piercy’s marvelous poem, suggests something of the human condition- that we all long to be useful, to help, to work together toward a common goal. This is surely the best part of the human spirit. Meditate upon this:

  What is my true purpose? What am I here to do in this life?

  I recommend that you contemplate this question deeply and for a very long time-days, weeks, months, and years, even. Let the answer speak through your service to others.

Don’t Just Go Through It, Grow Through It

An attitude of gratitude can make a profound difference in our day-to-day lives. Yet, as we all come to know, not every day is filled with good things. We each endure difficult passages: illnesses, money trouble, work woes, relationship issues, the loss of a loved one, and countless others. These are the vicissitudes of life. However, it is the attitude you bring to each situation that makes all the difference. Share what you learned from others during these life lessons and offer help to a fellow traveler who is walking a hard path.

The Gift of Listening

Listening is one of the greatest gifts you can give anyone. As humans we all want to be heard, so start by listening a little more each day. Listen to your children, your spouse, your friends, even the Chitty Cathy in your office. You, in turn, will be repaid by being listened to with far more attention and care.

Good Neighbor

Every Sunday night, when you go to take out your own garbage and recycling, knock on your neighbor’s door and offer to take hers out, too. You might even be invited in for tea and cookies, as I was!

Be More Thoughtful

You know your coworker works really hard and can come in a bit bedraggled at the end of an arduous week. Why not walk up to her, say, “Good Morning!,” and hand her a vitamin-rich protein smoothie or fresh hand-pressed juice?

Pay It Forward

https://pifnow.org/

Stop for a moment and think of someone who needs a gesture of kindness. Perhaps it is something kind that someone once said to you. With gratitude for what was given, reach out and give back. It can be a simple gesture, like sending a card, or calling someone who is sick and saying you care. You may well recall the movie or book, but if you want ideas and to connect to other kindly folks, go to payitforwardfoundation.org. Pay It Forward is all about people, from all walks of life, giving to others and making a positive difference. At last count there were more than 500,000 people in 60 countries around the world participating.

Teach Your Children Well

Sit down with your child and ask them to start a discussion about thankfulness. Provide a simple starting point: “Thank you for…” Then ask your child to draw a picture to go with the concept and get started writing the first of many thank-you notes for years to come!

Rewire Your Brain to be More Positive

Neuropsychiatrist David Amen,MD, posits that thoughts carry physical properties and that the properties of negative thoughts can be detrimental to leading a healthy, happy life. To overturn these negative effects, he prescribes thinking more positively so you can change the way your brain works and in turn change your life for the better.

Dad’s Big Day

On June 19, 1910, the governor of the state of Washington proclaimed the nation’s first Father’s Day. However, it was not until 1972, 58 years after President Woodrow Wilson made Mother’s Day official, that the day became a nationwide holiday in the United States. Celebrate your father today by making him feel special and loved with a homemade gift or meal. For your friends who may have lost their father, check in with them as this day may be difficult. Perhaps you can connect them with the many “rad dads” at senior centers who are elders with wonderful stories and few family members.

The Good Old Days and the Good New Days

Share happy memories. Keep in touch with a friend by sending an old photo to them via snail mail and write a short note about the day it was taken on the back of the photo.

Phoning It in for a Good Cause

Donate your old cell phone to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (ncadv.org). They will donate the proceeds to programs that protect families who have suffered abuse. 

The Good Neighbor Policy

Bring your neighbor’s newspaper to their front door and leave a plate of homemade muffins next to it. 

Honor Abused Women and Children’s Awareness Day

Collect coupons for life’s little essentials, buy the merchandise, and then donate them to a homeless shelter or a home for abused women and children. I donate magazines and books to my shelter of choice, the fantastic Delancey Street (delanceystreetfoundation.org). They have been making a difference in people’s lives for decades and turned thousands of lives around.

Birthday Girl

Give your mom a present on your birthday. She gave you the gift of life, and this is a sweet acknowledgement of her labor.

Be Kind to Yourself, Too

Make a commitment to refrain from negative self-talk. Be kind to yourself and focus on the traits you like, rather than the ones you don’t. The extremely wise Dawna Markova, the author of a favorite book, I Will Not Die an Unlived Life, says “Your soul remembers when you put yourself down; it imprints upon you. Never do this. Self-compassion is key to a life well-lived.”

It’s the Thought that Counts

Leave something useful in an area where it will be most needed: an umbrella next to a public doorway or a spare bag at the grocery store for those who forgot theirs. Practice tiny acts of kindness!

A Bagel and a Hug

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed from everything that life throws your way. If you notice a friend or coworker struggling, be there for them. Bring them a bagel or coffee, or something simple to show them that you care. Take their mind off their challenges, if only for a moment.

Live Aloha

In the beautiful paradise known as the Hawaiian Islands, there is a tradition of “Living Aloha.” In Hawaiian culture, aloha includes the concepts akahai, lokahi, olu` olu, ha`aha`a, and ahonui- in English, these words translate to kindness, bringing unity, politeness, humility, and enduring. If you live your life with simple acts of goodness every day and follow the tradition of native Hawaiian islanders, you will surely become good in the world.