Did you know today is Earth Hour Day?

Participate in Earth Hour today, beginning at 8:30pm in the United States, and turn off all of the lights in your home for one hour. Earth Hour unites millions of people around the world and gives them the hope that together we can make a difference. Visit http://earthhour.org/ for more information. Take this hour to sit with your significant other or invite some pals over for a candlelit evening of togetherness. Just be. Together. 

it's Your Turn to Give

The Best Kind of Social Networking

Help the elderly with their devices. Many senior citizens aren’t tech-savvy but given that we live in a technologically advanced society, learning how to use a computer or the Internet can prove to be very helpful. Volunteer your assistance to a senior who has a cell phone or computer and needs help using it.  Be email buddies with your new friends, too!

Live From Your values

“When we are on track, living close to the things we deem important – the things we value – we feel happier. This isn’t flash happiness, it isn’t the kind that lasts for a few minutes when we get a new toy, or enjoy a concert. This is the kind that lingers in the background of our lives. The kind that even in moments of sadness or frustration, never completely disappears, because if we are living a values based-life we are also living with meaning and purpose.” Polly Campbell

Little kindnesses can mean the most

“Contagious Optimist” Colleen Georges taught me this: It's easy to judge others for their actions and take for granted those we love or meet in chance encounters. We sometimes get so caught up in our busy-ness that we forget others are busy too, they have rough days just like us, and they benefit from our kindnesses just as we do theirs. Go out of your way to smile at strangers, say good morning, say thank you, give a compliment, and listen attentively to someone who needs your ear. Do it because you can, because it feels great, because it makes someone else feel good. Don't worry about a subsequent thank you; let a thank you be a beautiful perk, rather than an expectation. 

A letter means more than any email

Please, Mr. Postman

Look into a pen pal! Talking to someone in a foreign land—whether it be a soldier, fellow student, or long-lost relative—can really help you gain perspective and will provide support to the person you are writing to. Check out this website for more details on how to find a pen pal http://www.penpalworld.com Letter writing is more meaningful than an email or text so this beautifully old-fashioned tradition will bring lasting enjoyment to you and your pal.

The lungs of the planet

Tropical rainforests take in vast quantities of carbon dioxide (a poisonous gas which mammals exhale) and through the process of photosynthesis, converts it into clean, breathable air. In fact, the tropical rainforests are the single greatest terrestrial source of air that we breathe.

What’s truly amazing, however, is that while the tropical rainforests cover just 2% of the Earth's land surface, they are home to two-thirds of all the living species on the planet. Additionally, nearly half the medicinal compounds we use every day come from plants endemic to the tropical rainforest. If a cure for cancer or the common cold is to be found, it’ll almost certainly come from the tropical rainforests.

Tragically, the tropical rainforests are being destroyed at an alarming rate. According to Rainforest Action Network, more than an acre-and-a-half is lost every second of every day (refer to the entries below to see, quantitatively, what that translates into). That’s an area more than twice the size of Florida that goes up in smoke every year!

“If present rates of destruction continue, half our remaining rainforests will be gone by the year 2025, and by 2060 there will be no rainforests remaining.” http://www.savetherainforest.org

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 the world’s one and only—Allen Klein. Through his books and his presentations, Klein shows people worldwide how to deal with everything from traffic jams. Klein got into this unusual line of work after his wife died of a rare liver disease at the age of 34. He saw how humor helped her, and those around her, cope. He also saw how humor helped him get through that loss. He now teaches others how to find some in trying times. Those audiences include people in 48 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.