Just Say Hello!

Try something new this year and check out the Just Say Hello campaign on Oprah’s website. The campaign (find it at oprah.com/health/Just-Say-Hello-How-to-Participate) encourages kindness and strives to combat loneliness by reading and connecting. A howdy-do to a stranger might make your day and a new pal in the process. I read about this excellent friendliness project in Oprah’s O Magazine a few Sundays ago and immediately felt inspired to try it that day. My boyfriend and I went to do our weekend chores, which include buying fresh flowers from our neighborhood stand. An older gentleman was standing there smelling the roses, always a good idea in my mind. I remembered to say “Hi” as instructed by Oprah and he responded with a big smile and asked for my input on flowers for a lady friend. As you might imagine, quite a conversation ensued, and my boyfriend, who is even friendlier than I am, joined in. Soon the florist was involved and our new gentleman friend turned out to be a fascinating conversationalist. He had been a fighter pilot in the Korean War, very highly decorated, and had traveled all over the world before returning home to El Cerrito. Widowed some years back, he was only beginning to get back out there and date. After landing upon a carefully selected bouquet of red roses and pink lilies, he headed off to the dance at the senior center. I noticed he had a good bit of pep in his step and I remember having a good feeling about his first date. We kept our eyes peeled for Colonel Jarvis when in the vicinity of the flower shop, and sure enough, the next time we saw him he had pictures of his lady friend from the dance featuring a corsage he had gotten for her. Things were looking pretty swell all around and he looked pleased as punch.

So, thanks, Oprah, for another great idea!

Be a Tourist in Your Own Town

Go for a stroll around the city you live in. Pay attention to the little things you may have been missing, such as the architecture, the perfect picnic spot in a park, the greenery, and the people around you. Spend your money where your heart is, your own community.

Spend Your Money in Your Own Neighborhood

Support local agriculture and business by purchasing produce or baked goods from farmer’s markets. By doing so, you ensure that your fresh food is organically grown and isn’t imported from another state or country-the cost of shipping is a contribution to greenhouse gas and pollution. Every dollar you spend locally will go a long way toward supporting your local economy and your next-door neighbors.

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?

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 Very Very Very Fine House

Volunteer to help build a house through Habitat for Humanity (habitat.org), a nonprofit organization that builds and repairs houses so that families have a safe and affordable place to live. Maybe you’ll even get to meet former President Jimmy Carter and you can hammer up a front porch and discuss world peace together.

Ditch the High-Maintenance Front Lawn and Plant Natives

As a Northern Californian experiencing a serious drought, I am thrilled to see more and more gardens being cultivated with plants that need no water. This method is called xeriscaping and it is gorgeous and has enormous variety. If you’re tired of the constant mow/water/fertilizer cycle of your lawn, consider getting rid of it altogether. It’s not as bizarre as it sounds. Some water conservationists estimate that up to 40% of a household’s water usage during the summer months is spent on outdoor watering, so ditching the lawn altogether can save you time and money, not to mention a precious resource. One eco-friendly option is to replace all that turf with plants indigenous to your region, which will require less water and look far prettier than any ol’ square of green grass ever could. Start a xeriscaping movement on your street.

Sharing Your Strength

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.

Friends Are Not Just for Facebook

My newer pals are always kind of amazed that I have such a large group of friends, especially from back home in West Virginia. I attribute that to a few things: many of us come from Irish and Scottish stock, so we tend to be a wee bit clannish. We also check in on each other and get together quite regularly. There are the occasional squabbles but when trouble comes knocking, we have each other’s backs all the way. It’s a beautiful thing. When somebody moves, we are there to pack and tape up boxes. When somebody is sick, we are there with homemade soup and a listening ear. To me, friendship is one of the most important things in the world and it is not just a phenomenon that takes place on social media.

Emit Good Vibes

Take stock of your day-to-day life. Are you giving to others or is there an imbalance? Do your work and your immediate family get 99% of what you offer the world? You can change that in one day. Donate more of your time or money to a charity. Supporting a cause will help keep you informed about social issues and can strengthen your sense of well being, while benefiting others in the process. Additionally, monetary donations are tax deductible, which is really just a bonus: the real reward is not just on April 15 but comes the other 364 days of the year.