Invent a special holiday to celebrate someone you love-be it your spouse, your dog, or your closest friend. On this day, make them a special dinner, take them out, and write them a letter saying how you feel about them. You can even create a fun holiday to share with your family so everyone can participate.
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!
Pick up and recycle or compost loose garbage as you walk. Sidewalks are meant for safe walking, not weaving through someone else’s abandoned bottles and crumpled up take-out bags. Take pride in the area you live and help contribute to keeping it clean and safe. One person helping can inspire many others to do the same. I vowed to do this 15 years ago while living in the Lower Haight in San Francisco. By the end of each week, I usually had a big bag to take to the HANC recycling Center. In the last couple of years, I have gotten some puzzled glances and even laughter when I am dressed up for a meeting while walking down the street and picking up garbage, empty bottles, and what-have-you. I will occasionally say, “This is my service to the earth. Recycling is my religion.” And it is. I have the planet’s back!
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.
On average, an American uses around six napkins each day-2,200 a year! If every American
used even one less napkin per day, more than one billion pounds of napkins could be saved
from landfills each year. Using cloth napkins can be even better!
“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.
Look into a pen pal. Writing to someone in a foreign land-whether it be a soldier, a fellow
student, or a long-lost relative-can really help you gain perspective and will do the same for the
person you are writing to. Check out this website for more details on how to find a pen pal:
penpalworld.com. Letter writing is more meaningful than an email or text-this beautifully old-
fashioned tradition will bring lasting enjoyment to you and your pal.
