Love the Ones You’re With

    We're now starting to enter a post-covid world, and we're all getting back together. Which is why I have seen this excellent exercise put into practice at work, family reunions, and dinner parties, and think there is to better time to try it out at your next gathering. It never fails to bring a group of people closer, and it brings out the best in anyone. Call everyone to attention and say you want to acknowledge your appreciation for the group. Time your moment well- whenever there is a lull in conversation would be best and never at the beginning of a get-together.

Free Hugs for All!

    Covid has been hard for those of us who thrive off of hugs. So once everything is lifted, be an indiscriminate hugger. When I first moved to California, I was bit taken aback by all the feelings of comfort, contemned, and security. Hugs are one of the most beautifully human things we can do, and it's definitely on the top of everybody's list once this pandemic is over. So prepare yourselves by hugging what you can around your house, whether it be your pet, a pillow, or a stuffed animal lying around!

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 or virtual Zoom performances to patients underdgoing treatment or unable to leave their beds. With so many people in hospitals because of coronavirus, why not bring some good-hearted tunes back into their lives? Add a dose of joy to a healthcare facility by bringing the healing power of music to people who need it.

Go Forth and See the World

    Things are starting to get back to normal, and vacation plans are beginning to ramp up in numbers again. And after this past year, it's important to remember the importance of traveling, even if it means still wearing a mask and having hand sanitizer on your person after getting the vaccine.

    I am reminded of the peripatetic Phil Cousineau that travel is a very important tool for lasting happiness and creating memories to savor over a lifetime. Phil, author of essential guides to making travel meaningful, The Art of Pilgrimage and The Book of Roads, says its important to "go out of your way," and meet people that are native to the place you're visiting. He also reminds us to give gifts, simple tokens from your homeland, and gestures of goodwill that will be returned a thousandfold.

    Over 2,000 years ago, the sage Lao Tzu remarked, "The longest journey starts with a single step." Phil says to use "the eyes of the heart" when traveling to learn something about yourself and the wide world around you. Here are some of Phil's recommended practices for making travel meaningful:

    Imagine your first memorable journey. What images rise up in your soul? They may be a childhood visit to the family gravesite, the lecture your uncle gave at a famous battlefield, or the hand-in-hand trip with your mother to a religious site. What feelings are evoked by your enshrined travel memories? Do they have any connection with your life today? Have you ever enshrined travel memories? Do they have any connection to your life today? Have you ever made a vow to go someplace that is sacred to you, your family, your group? Have you ever imagined yourself in a place that stirred your soul like the song of doves at dawn? If not you, then who? If not now, when? If not here, where? Paris? Benares? Memphis? -Uncover what you log for and discover who you are.

    If you are traveling soon, make sure you are still practicing guidelines! Mask up, sanitize your hands, and keep six feet apart.

Treat People Well

    With the pandemic, it can be challenging to share something you worked hard on with people in your life. Like bringing homemade goodies to work. Even with social distancing and operating from our homes, for many of us, we work five days a week digitally with the same people for the same amount of hours. We need a sweet reward once restrictions are lifted, so what could be more uplifting than arriving the first day back to work to the sight and smell of baked goods or snacks? Make something that people would enjoy, such as chocolate chip cookies or banana break. The work environment will become much more warm and inviting than ever before, and making others feel good after a pandemic will be one of the truest pleasures in our lives.

The Little Things Count

    Do little things for others, like holding the door open and letting someone go before you, sharing some of your hand sanitizer, or allowing the person with only one item go ahead of you at the grocery store. I think due to our over-busyness nowadays, so many people rush through life and don't consider the feelings of others. A simple gesture can be a good reminder for us all, myself included. Take your time, look around you, and ask yourself, how can I help someone today? In the end, you are helping yourself just as much.

Uncommon Courtesy

     Right now, it can be hard to smile with a mask on but you can smile with your eyes and your manner. Supermodel and tv host calls it "smizing."