Mindful Memo

    Write a note of gratitude to the people in your everyday life who make a difference-the mailman, a grocery clerk, or the greeter at the mall. Tell your friends about their great service so their businesses can grow. Just by paying attention to those who can so easily go unnoticed (especially if your smartphone is glued to your hand), you can enrich each other’s lives a little each day.

Penning the Positive

Write a message of positivity on a decorated postcard and send it in to postsecret.com. There, you can also view postcards that others have sent in: Affirmations, love notes, and written acts of kindness truly have the power to lift the human spirit.

For Services Rendered

    Send a letter to someone in local law enforcement, the Coast Guard, or serving overseas that gives thanks for their hard work and dedication to our country. It’s simple and will be greatly appreciated. Go to LetsSayThanks.com for inspiration.

Love and Lattes

    Leave a tip and a little thank-you note in the tip jar at your favorite coffee or ice cream shop. Many of us remember the days when we had to work retail or hospitality while in high school or college. The staff is working hard, so show your appreciation for your latte and their positive attitude with a dollar or two. I have put in little “good job” notes in the tip jar at my local Peet’s Coffee & Tea. I think good work should be acknowledged and people should know they are appreciated (and so should their boss!). I have made lifelong friends at the two Peet’s I have frequented and it is nice to see them across the counter every morning. Those relationships all began with four little words: “How are you today?”

Show a Little Tenderness

    Let public workers know that they are doing a good job. (See July 15, and try using a few minutes of your extra half hour to write thank-you notes to your local police station. I imagine it happens very rarely.) When you see a fire truck, ambulance, school bus, or police car, go ahead and thank the workers inside for their hard work. Whether internally thought or externally voiced, this appreciation goes a long way.

Teach Your Children Well

    Sit down with your child and ask them to start a discussion about thankfulness. Provide a simple starting point: "Thank you for..." Then ask your child to draw a picture to go with the concept and get started writing the first of many thank-you notes for years to come!

Mindful Memo

    Write a note of gratitude to the people in your everyday life who make a difference- the mailman, a grocery clerk, or the greeter at the mall. Tell your friends about their great service so their businesses can grow. Just by paying attention to those who can so easily go unnoticed (especially if your smartphone is glued to your hand), you can enrich each other's lives a little each day.

Penning the Positive

    Write a message of positivity on a decorated postcard and send it to postsecrew.com. There, you can also view postcards that others have sent in: Affirmations, love notes, and written acts of kindness truly have the power to lift the human spirit.

Love Notes

     Leave encouraging, inspiring, or funny notes or quotes in a library book or other random places (without littering or refilling public property).  A simple note stapled to a bulletin board, taped to a column, or written in chalk on the sidewalk may influence in wonderful ways- you'll be like a secret agent who brings happiness to others. this website has fun examples that might give you some ideas: artofgettingstarted.com.

Love and Lattes

    Leave a tip and a little thank-you note in the tip jar at your favorite coffee or ice cream shop. Many of us remember the days when we had to work retail or hospitality whole in high school or college. The staff is working hard, especially during a pandemic, so show your appreciation for your latte and their positive attitude with a dollar or two. I have put in little "good job" notes in the tip jar at my local Peet's Coffee and Tea. I think good work should be acknowledged and people should know they are appreciated (and so should their boss!). I have made lifelong friends at the two Peet's I have frequented and it is nice to see them across the counter every morning. Those relationships all began with four little words: "How are you today?"

Show a Little Tenderness

Let public workers know they are doing a good job. (See July 15 and try using a few minutes of your extra half hour to write thank-you notes to your local police station. I imagine it happens very rarely.) When you see a firetruck, ambulance, school bus, or police car, go ahead and thank the workers inside for their hard work. Whether internally thought or externally voiced, this appreciation goes a long way.