Look Up!

    Put down your smartphone and make eye contact, person to person. Nowadays, I consider that a major act of kindness and courtesy, as well.

Make a Social Call

    Simply pick up the phone and call a good friend to talk about what is on your mind. Bare your soul; don’t be afraid to ask for advice. Talk about what is going on in the world and what you can do about it. In this age of texting and Twitter, I have discovered the old-fashioned phone call is very welcome.

Turn Off Your TV and Your Brain Back On

    Nowadays, children have computers and chat rooms, mobile phones, and a TV in their room with hundreds of channels in glorious color. Children can be techno-wizards- but TV is a time filler and time killer. It both encourages and normalizes violence, in both behavior and attitude. TV makes children lazy, and sluggish in thought and action. 

    If you feel your children are watching too much television and it’s having a negative impact:

• Have all cable disconnected.
• Remove all TV’s except one from the house.
• Limit TV viewing to set hours, such as only after homework is finished; and no TV during meals and no morning TV.
• Limit channels watched
• Have family evenings that are fun. Encourage new hobbies.
• Don’t rely on the TV for entertainment. Make your own. Talk to your family, and have them talk to you.
  

Mindfulness at 55 MPH

    Be a mindful driver, not a distracted danger to yourself and others. Driving, texting, and talking on the phone are very dangerous. Typing out a quick text may feel harmless, but texting requires visual, manual, and cognitive attention that you should be giving to the road. Think about-and educate yourself on-the dangers of distracted driving. Here are a few statistics provided by distraction.gov to get you started:

• An estimated 421,000 people were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver.
• 11% of all drivers under the age of 20 involved in fatal crashes were reported to be distracted at the time of the crash.
• Sending or a receiving text takes a driver’s eyes from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds, the equivalent-at 55mph-of driving the length of an entire football field, blind. Bottom line: don’t do it!
  

Phoning 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.

Unplug (and Recharge!)

    Forego using technological devices today. Texting your friends, watching your favorite show, and checking your email- all can wait until tomorrow! Turn off your devices and turn on your senses! Reading a book, cook a meal, and enjoy the outdoors by taking a walk or tending to your garden. Technology distracts us from the real world, occupying our attention with game applications, chat rooms, social media websites, commercials, and so on. Want to know what's going on in the news? Read a newspaper. Be aware of the here and now by finding activities that don't require electricity or a battery. Make your own entertainment!

The 411

     Your old cellphone is taking up space in your drawer when it could be helping a victim of domestic violence. Donate it to shelteralliance.net to keep your phone out of the landfill and know you are helping families in need.

I Just Called To Say I Love You

     Call your parents (or whoever raised you) and thank them for everything they did for you!

Look Up!

     Put down your smartphone and make eye contact, person to person. Nowadays, I consider that a major act of kindness and courtesy, as well.