Scatter Joy All Around

Think about how you can create little moments of happiness for others. Help a friend plant her

garden, buy an extra coffee for a coworker, pay the toll for the car behind you on the bridge, and

even take your kids to a movie. All those little things can add up to big joy.

Make Beautiful Music

If you’re a musician living in New York City, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Nashville, or Miami, you can volunteer through the nonprofit Musicians on Call (musiciansoncall.org) to deliver live, in-room performances to patients undergoing treatment or unable to leave their beds. Add a dose of joy to a healthcare facility by bringing the healing power of music to people who need it.

Share Your Toys

Leave small, handmade toys for people to find. The Toy Society spreads love by doing this good deed. Visit thetoysociety.blogspot.com for more information and inspiration. You can post your toy drop on the website and view the drops that others have made. Feel free to share a picture and revel in the thought of bringing a child happiness-it might also be a good idea to leave a note

Make Beautiful Music

https://www.musiciansoncall.org/stories/4-moc-moments-that-show-the-proven-effects-of-music/

If you’re a musician living in New York City, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Nashville, or Miami, you can volunteer through the nonprofit Musicians on Call (musiciansoncall.org) to deliver live, in-room performances to patients undergoing treatment or unable to leave their beds. Add a dose of joy to a healthcare facility by bringing the healing power of music to people who need it.

Random Acts of Roses

Use your flower power: go to the local discount store and pick up some small vases. Add a ribbon, some freshly picked flowers, and deliver the arrangements to elders at a local community center, nurses in the ER, or anywhere you know people can use little random acts of roses.

Be Happy for Others (and Let Them Know It!)

When someone tells you their good news, be excited for them and show your enthusiasm. Sometimes we may envy the good things that happen to others. If you focus on how happy this person is, this will allow their joy to become yours as well.

Popcorn and a Movie

    Donate movies and toys to the children’s ward at your local hospital. Even better, stay and watch a movie in the social room and bring doctor-approved treats!

Share Your Toys

    Leave small, handmade toys for people to find. The Toy Society spreads love by doing this good deed. Visit thetoysociety.blogspot.com for more information and inspiration. You can post your toy drop on the website and view the drops that others have made. Feel free to share a picture and revel in the thought of bringing a child happiness- it might also be a good idea to leave a note on the toy that lets people know they can take it. For example: “Take me home- I’m Yours!”

A Laugh a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

    As the legendary Charlie Chaplin said, “A Day without laughter is a day wasted.” Laughter and good humor are infectious. Sharing a funny story or memory with others helps increase happiness and intimacy between friends, acquaintances, and loved ones. According to helpguide.org, laughter triggers happiness and can strengthen the immune system, boost energy, relieve physical and emotional pain, and battle the effects of stress. Today is a great day! Let yourself enjoy it.

Give Good Luck

    If you see a penny on the ground, flip it and make it face head’s up. Some people find joy in picking up a lucky penny and you can help bring that joy to them.

Make Beautiful Music

    If you’re a musician living in New York City, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Nashville, or Miami, you can volunteer through the nonprofit Musicians on Call (musiciansoncall.org) to deliver live, in-room performances to patients undergoing treatment or unable to leave their beds. Add a dose of joy to a healthcare facility by bringing the healing power of music to people who need it.

Operation Gratitude

I learned about this from my mom, whose church regularly sends cards, letters, and care packages overseas to the armed forces. My mom and her fellow church ladies bake some of the best cookies in the world, so they gather up all kinds of goodies and treats and send them overseas where the taste of down home surely brings many smiles of satisfaction. Those who are less gifted in the baking department (such as me!) can make a $15 donation to Operation Gratitude, which pays for one care package for one serviceperson. Operation Gratitude  (operationgratitude.com) has sent over a million of these kindness kits around the world!

Scatter Joy All Around

    Think about how you can create little moments of happiness for others. Help a friend plant her garden, send a gift card to a coworker for their favorite coffee shop, pay the toll for the car behind you on the bridge, and even have a movie night with the family with extra buttered popcorn. All those little things can add up to big joy.

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 Allen Klein. Through his books and presentations, Klein shows people worldwide how to deal with everything from traffic jams to corporate culture. Klein got into this unusual line of work after his wife died of a rare liver disease at the age of 34 when he saw how humor helped her, and those around her, to cope. He now teaches others how to find humor in trying times. His audiences include people in 48 American 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!

Sign Up to Be Santa’s Helper

    Go to your local Post Office around Christmastime and pick one of the letters to Santa that they get every year. Buy and send the gift to the child who asked for it so the gift arrives before December 25.

Be Happy for Others (and Let Them Know!)

    When someone tells you their good news, be excited for them and show your enthusiasm. Sometimes we may envy the good things that happen to others. If you focus on how happy this person is, this will allow their joy to become yours as well.

Give Good Luck

    If you see a penny on the ground, flip it and make it face head’s up. Some people find joy in picking up a lucky penny and you can help bring that joy to them.

Giving Benefits the Giver, Too!

    Find joy in giving. “Altruism boosts immune function, improves our moods, and is linked, not only to a higher quality of life, but a longer one,” according to Stephen Post, at Stony Brook University. Those who help others also experience a “helper’s high” when their bodies are flooded with feel good endorphins and other natural chemicals. It’s pretty basic: when we do good, we feel good.

The Sweet Life

    Show your support of childhood cancer patients and survivors with Lily’s stevia-sweetened chocolate (lilyssweets.com). A portion of profits goes to nonprofits in Pennsylvania, California, and New York. Opening up a box of joy is good for us all!

Simple Acts of Goodness

    Get acquainted with the power of simple human kindness and easy acts of goodness every day. When at the grocery store, return the shopping cart or help the elderly man struggling with his bags. Open doors for people. Say “Hello” with a smile. Every day and in every way choose to take the high road in your travels. The view is much more beautiful from up top!