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Gratitude

I took some time this morning to write a gratitude mind map.

As I continued to add items, I found my fingers almost couldn't keep pace with all things I tried to write. I sent emails to a few people on the map to tell them how much I appreciate them!

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it. ~ William Arthur Ward

Coffee Kindness

I hit the ground running on Tuesdays and Thursdays so I did not get the Day 2 email until after my act of kindness. I had a full schedule today, so I decided to do something quick and convenient. I printed out some Smile Cards and headed out.

As I walked to the Starbucks on campus, I worked out the details of buying someone their drink. Should I buy a gift card and give it to the barista to dole out? Or buy myself something and pay for the person behind me? Or buy the gift card and walk around campus looking for someone I would not normally interact with? I was feeling oddly nervous.

In the end, I got in line, bought a gift card and turned around and handed it with a smile card to the boy behind me. I said, "Here you go!" And he said, "Thank you." I scampered out the door with a "You're welcome!" That was it.

But, what a feeling! I loved the joy I felt for doing something so small. I wasn't too concern about what the recipient thought. I felt phenomenal for taking a chance and performing a kind gesture. I love this!

Lunch Date

A third grade student at my school invited me to sit with him at lunch today. Even though I usually like to take that time to get a break from kids I said yes as an act of kindness. It surprised me as to how sweet it was to be surrounded by kindergarten through 6th grade students at the lunch table. I have come to love those lunch table conversations!

Before Drawing Conclusions

An old man was seated in the train with his 25 years old son.  As train started the young man was filled with lot of joy and curiosity. He was seated on the window side. He stuck out one hand to feel the passing air. He shouted, "Papa see all the trees are going behind". Old man smiled and admired son's emotions. There was a couple who were seated beside the young man. They were just sitting and listing to the conversation between the father and son. They probably thought it was a little awkward, observing that the 25 years old man was behaving like a small child. Suddenly young man again shouted, "Papa see the pond and animals. Clouds are moving with the train". The couple was watching the young man visibly embarrassed of his behavior. Now it started raining and some of water drops touched the young man's hand. He was filled with even ... Read Full Story >>

A Thousand Cranes - A Scavenger Hunt in Reverse

Yesterday morning, I spent a glorious few hours with a group of close friends.  We were sitting down in a cozy corner of the cafe, sipping on delicious coffee and catching up on the past year.   As we were leaving, one friend found a beautiful blue oragami paper crane, casually perched on top of the mantle of a fire place.  Attached to the paper crane was along a lovely quote that read, "You don't need to know.  Life wouldn't be this grand adventure if you knew what was coming.  Love the mystery."  Later, we discovered another piece of paper that shared the story of the paper cranes.  It read... "On Valentine's Day of 2011, I came home to find a beautiful mass of moving color.  My ex-boyfriend had folded 1000 paper cranes and hung them on my porch.  He left a note saying if I made a wish, it would be ... Read Full Story >>

Kindness Great And Small

I feel it is important to remember as we are moving through this kindness challenge that being kind shouldn't feel like something 'extra' you are having to do in a full list of many things to get done during your waking moments. Kindness comes in many forms, some extraordinary, some less bold and noticeable, but kindness in all its forms is equally important. Something like picking up a piece of trash you see laying outside in the parking lot, thanking someone for their efforts, offering to run an errand for someone who has an overabundance of tasks to get accomplished, all can be just as impactful as a grander gesture. Many times, kindness can be found in just paying attention. When you take the time to notice what someone enjoys or the hard work they do, it says to that person that you care about them and notice their efforts and ... Read Full Story >>

Life is Easy

"Life is easy" says Jon Jandai. "Why do we have to make it so difficult?" After pursuing "success" in Bangkok for several years, Jo dropped out of university to return to village life.

There, he went back to the life he knew as a child, working 2 months of the year to grow rice (with an additional 15 minutes a day to grow vegetables), dug a couple of fish ponds, built his own homes using earthen bricks, and gave up buying clothes (he has so many clothes from friends and visitors that he has to give them away).

Jon contends that to be happy, we cannot just rely on money; we have to reconnect with each other.

Check out this inspiring video to hear more about Jon's amazing story!




 

Volunteering At An Orphanage In Tijuana, Mx

Today I'm grateful for the joy and grace of the children at Los Angellitos orphanage in the Tijuana area of Mexico.

I go with a bus load of volunteers from Corazon de Vida foundation to spend the day every now and then. We bring them art projects, balls, balloons, a special pizza lunch, and most of all, one on one attention. In return they give us unconditional love and teach us to be grateful for the simple joys of giving and receiving.

State ID for elderly neighbor

I took my elderly neighbor to get her State ID today and then took her on the errands she needed to do. She has a daughter that lives only 4 miles away, but she doesn't drive due to a car accident. This was our second trip to the DMV/Secretary of State because the first time she didn't have everything she needed.

An Unexpected Blessing

Years ago a college friend and I set out across the US on a post-college adventure. Our vehicle broke-down in New London, Ontario, Canada on a Sunday afternoon.

We were towed to a garage where we spent the night sleeping in the van waiting for the owner to open the next morning. We left the van to be repaired and set out raising money working odd jobs throughout the day.

When we returned the mechanic had finished the work, but the job cost $100 more than we had earned that day. Tired and now more than a little disconsolate, we decided to ask the mechanic if we could send him the remainder of the money from our destination in Boston, MA.

To our surprise and relief he agreed. When we arrived in Boston three days later, we immediately sent the balance to him as well as a note of great appreciation for the trust he shared with two, young strangers.

Truck breakdown

My truck broke down this weekend out of state and leaving me stranded over the weekend. The people I met in the process of trying to figure out how to get it fixed and what to do made an unfortunate situation become an opportunity to meet others and witness how kind people can be without expecting anything in return.

I had a transmission mechanic examine my truck free of charge while he was not even supposed to be at work. Many things happened "by chance" but I couldn't help but feel like I was being looked out for.

I was able to get my car back home, find a loaner car and not miss out on work. My problem isn't solved yet but I have a very different outlook on the situation and peace in my heart.

All I did was try to put out hopeful good energy and use patience. Things lined up. "Move and the way will open" - Zen Proverb. Feeling blessed.

The Care Package

My dearest cousin has been really down in the dumps the last few weeks ... it hurts me to see her so unhappy with life.

So I went out and created a care package for her! In it, I put a brand new gardening tools, seeds, and a pot so she could get into gardening and get her mind off things (it's also just a great therapeutic activity!) and I also got her a 1000-pc puzzle to have her fun with. I just want her to get her mind off things and have fun with life, even if just for a moment.

You see the smile card there? YAY for happiness!

Bearing Smiles

Recently I went to a restaurant with my grandparents. I decided that it was time to use a card. We ate our dinner and got ready to leave, but before I left, I layed a smile card on the table along with a tiny bear figurine that I had made. Then, I hurried towards the door.

Before I got there, the waitress saw what was at the table and called out to me that I had forgot something. I told her no, it was hers! She smiled, and that was the last time I saw her. It was really exciting, and a new way to spead smiles! Plus, one of my bears now has a home, and is "bearing smiles!"

Planting Date Palms

[A Sufi Story]

Harun al-Rashid was once walking through a plantation when he saw a hunched man with a long, gray beard, putting in sapling date palms. He greeted him, saying, ‘Take it easy, father!’

‘Thank you, my son,’ the old man replied.

‘What are you doing, father?’ he asked the old man.

‘As you see, I am planting sapling date palms.’

‘How many years does it take a date palm to bear fruit?’

‘Ten, twenty, thirty years. Some take as long as a hundred years.’

‘Will you be able to eat the fruit of these palms you are planting?’

‘I may not live to see the day,’ said the old man, ‘but we eat from those our forebears planted. So let us plant, that those who follow us may eat in turn!'

Stones and Flowers

One afternoon, he discovered that if he tossed stones over his neighbor’s fence, he could create a crashing sound, the sound of breaking glass. So he would heave a stone and wait for the crash. Heave, crash. It was great fun and felt a little dangerous. He might get caught, after all, but that, to a small boy, was part of the excitement. As it happened, he did get caught. The man who lived next door came to his house and told his parents about the boy and the stones. ‘I would like Juan to come to my home so I can show him a few things,’ the man said, in a tone Juan found rather ominous. His parents, ashamed of and disappointed by their son’s behavior, readily sent their son to the neighbor’s house. Juan sheepishly followed the man into his house, through the back door, and out into the yard. ... Read Full Story >>

Noticing An Agitated Duck

Kim Tucker was heading home to West Sacramento last week and saw a sight that can't rightly be ignored. There, by the side of the road, was a remarkably agitated duck, pacing the pavement and flapping in fear. Her ducklings, Tucker learned on subsequent inspection, had fallen through a drainage grate and were desperately treading water in the filthy bog below. She looked for help, eventually enlisting a burly construction worker (to pry off the grate), a slew of onlookers and, she was surprised to note, a teenage boy, who whipped off his shoes and, without hesitation, slipped into the drain and started retrieving the ducklings in distress, one by one. "He was right on it," an impressed Tucker said. "It was (a very) human moment." But not all 13-year-olds are so human, judging by the number of like-aged boys who passed by the scene with little more than a glance. What made this particular kid ... Read Full Story >>

Pay It Forward Coffee (Video!)

Just saw this on CNN today:

Perhaps all our collective good karma is impacting the world after all! Keep spreading the goodness, friends.

A Perfect Stranger Restored My Faith

Anymore, it seems like all we ever hear about are the horrible things people do to others. I can't even turn on the news at night (we get Kansas City, Mo. news) without hearing of at least 3 people who were shot and killed plus numerous other acts of violence. Also, with families everywhere pinching pennies everywhere they can, not everyone is feeling as generous as they normally would be. But I found out that even in tough times, people can do simple things that might greatly improve a stranger's day. Not long ago, I was having one of those end of the week, everything fall apart, rotten days. I had a hard day at work, my week didn't go well and problems just kept popping up everywhere. Things broke or quit, unexpected bills came in and I was struggling to keep from loosing my cool from all the stress. Then ... Read Full Story >>

Morning Kindness Delivery Route

At a recent breakfast to say good-bye to a couple moving from their retirement community in Stone Mountain, GA, my Mom was surprised at the number of people in attendance. What was more surprising was the revelation that Patricia's kindness had endeared herself to so many of the people on her block. My mother and I would often speak of Pat with great admiration for her steadfast service.  For example, she would move my 89-year-old mother's newspaper from the end of the driveway to right outside her door. While my mother is quite able, this little kindness was deeply appreciated, especially when the weather was dicey. What she didn't know until this breakfast gathering was Pat did this same little deed for everyone on the block who had newspapers sitting in their driveway. She was an early riser and she'd time her morning walk to follow the newspaper delivery person and make her rounds, which include a trek down and up ... Read Full Story >>

21 Day Gratitude Challenge Top 10

If this were your last day, how would you spend it? "If today was my last day on earth I imagine the world would suddenly come into view as never before. All the things around me, the sights, sounds, feelings, those natural and even unnatural, would have more meaning, preciousness, & vividness than ever before. I would try to live each moment of that day with mindfulness and presence, appreciating the small things that I usually take for granted and feeling grateful to experience them all for one last day. Ideally I would spend the day with loved ones, simply enjoying each others' company. If for some reason it wasn't possible for me to be with loved ones I would make sure I contacted them to let them know how much they have meant to me and how they have blessed my life. There's no reason why this imaginary last ... Read Full Story >>