Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Good morning, world!

Well, I am not sure how your day is going, but here in the United States it is voting day. I am never one to share my political beliefs because 1) I can see both sides to every story, that is part of my supah-powahs as an empath 2) everyone has an opinion, why do you care about mine?and 3) I find that when I share my opinions, no matter what those are, I find that a lot of negative Nancies come out of the word work to tell you why you are wrong, which is not so much fun for someone who is such a strong empath!!

I am not going to tell you who I am voting for, but I will tell you that no matter how this election turns out, I am going to keep my number 1 priority as loving others. Why is that such a hard concept for people to understand? Loving others is not such a difficult task, matter of fact, it is actually quite easy to love others.

In case, you are one of those people who feel that this can be a daunting task, I have decided to give you a little bit of help, and share 101 simple ways you can love others, every single day!

101 Simple Way You Can Love Others

1. Smile at others
2. Say a heart felt “Good morning!”
3. Open the door for someone
4. Let someone else go first
5. Give someone a genuine compliment
6. Listen to your mama, and use your manners – “please” and “thank you” go a long way
7. Leave a post-it not of encouragement on a public mirror
8. Leave a small piece of art with an encouraging sentiment on it, in a public location
9. Call someone you’ve been meaning to call
10. Invite someone for a quick walk
11. Invite someone for coffee
12. Invite someone to have lunch with you
13. Bake a batch of cookies and share them with a neighbor
14. Cut some wild flowers, arrange them in an inexpensive, thrift store, vase, and give to someone who would enjoy them
15. Donate something of value that you no longer need to a place that gives back to your community
16. Donate some money to a place that gives back to your community
17. Better still, donate your time to a place that gives back to your community
18. Go to a park filled with children, and sit down and read a few children books to anyone who would like to listen
19. Share your talent on a street corner, sing, dance, paint, whatever, and don’t expect anything in return
20. Wear a sign offering free hugs
21. Pick up some trash as you take a walk through your neighborhood
22. Drop in on an elderly person, who might not ever get a lot of visitors, and just spend some time listening to their stories. You’ll never know what you just might learn
23. Write a love letter and share it with someone you love.
24. If that is too scary, write a love letter and share it online, anonymously
25. Collect soda bottles for recycling, and give the proceeds to a homeless person
26. Give a homeless person all the change you have in your wallet. If you are anything like me, that will be A LOT of change!
27. Next time you are at a restaurant, find one waitress who is doing an amazing job and give him or her an extra big tip!
28. Bonus points if it is on a crazy busy night, and he or she is hopping, and possibly a little bit haggard!
29. Write a thank you note, along with a story of greatness (a great product, service, staff, etc) of one of your favorite businesses, and send a copy in to the company, as well as your local news station, or newspaper, to help spread the word on this business’ awesomeness
30. Go to a friends house and help him or her with a chore that he or she has been dreading doing
31. Go on social media and invite anyone who would like to join, to come to a bubble blowing party at your city park. BYOB
32. Host a potluck gathering for your neighbors
33. Help mow someone’s yard who doesn’t have the ability, or health, or time to do it any longer
34. Give someone a small, prettily wrapped present for no reason whatsoever!
35. Volunteer at your local church, stuffing envelopes, or answering phones
36. Organize a, once a week, walking group, where you can get to know some others from your community
37. Teach something you know to someone who doesn’t know it, for free
38. Always be prepared for one extra guest whenever you are making a meal for your family, in case someone in need comes to your door
39. Pack up a few brown paper bag lunches, and take them around town, handing them out to homeless people
40. Pack up some gallon ziplock bags with things like a pair of socks, a comb, some granola bars, a stick of deodorant, maybe some feminine hygiene products, a pack of baby wipes, and a $5 bill. You can pass these out to any homeless people you may come across. I would call these blessing bags!!
41. Volunteer to read, to children, at your local library
42. Volunteer to read, to senior citizens, at your local assisted living facility
43. Spend some time at an assisted living facility, just visiting with the residents
44. If you see an injustice, speak up about it, try to fix it
45. If you see something broken, see if you can find a way to fix it
46. If you see something dirty, clean it up
47. Offer to pressure wash someone’s driveway, for free
48. Offer to wash your neighbor’d car, for free
49. Find someone who might be suffering from a serious illness, and offer to help prep a meal for them, do a load of laundry, or possible some other house chore that needs to be done
50.  Gather up as many spare blankets you can find, and share them with anyone who is sleeping on the street (bonus points if you provide an easily cartable bag for them to store their new blanket in)
51. Gather a group of people to make blankets for the foster kids in your town
52. Gather a group of people to make premie baby clothes, for those babies born early
53. Rake someone’s leaves from their yard without them knowing
54. Invite someone over to share a meal with you and your family
55. Invite someone over to share your favorite movie with them
56. Volunteer at your local hospital
57. Donate your read, but well taken care of, magazines to your local hospital, or doctor’s office
58. Find a need and fill it
59. Share your knowledge of something you love with others
60. Do you have a Salvation Army, or a Boys and Girls Club? They can always use volunteers to help with their youth programs
61. Donate some books to your local library
62. Send someone a quick note, via email, to let them know that you are thinking good thoughts about them
63. When getting a coffee, pay for the person behind you too
64. When you see someone at a cash register, and they are a little short, cover it for them
65. When you are at a cash register, and you see someone with a small set of groceries behind you, pay for it
66. Go spend some time down at your local animal shelter taking care of the animals there
67. Find a single parent, and offer to watch their child for the day, so they can go run errands by themselves, or better yet spend some time doing something that they want to do
68. Pack a holiday meal and deliver it to a family you know is in need
69. Find a family who might not being too well financially and surprise them with Christmas presents
70. Let someone cut you in line, if you are the last in line
71. Clean up someone else’s mess
72. Take a child, from a large family, and spend the day paying attention to them, and listening to them
73. Bake a cake and deliver it, with a card of thank you for your service to your local fire department, or police department
74. Shop for someone who is ill, or unable to get out of the house
75. Create some simple craft kits that can be taken to your local children’s hospital
76. Write a sincere job referral for someone
77. Donate blood
78. Donate plasma
79. Start a blog, or YouTube channel that can share information to help someone
80. Forgive someone who has wronged you, even if it is forgiving them just to yourself
81. Look for the goodness in people, every has a gem of goodness
82. Do your best to keep your word
83. Share a funny joke with some
84. Wear clothing that make you happy, you will be happier, and that will automatically rub off on others
85. Spend an hour just visiting with someone who might need your attention
86. Share your favorite book with someone, bonus points if you buy them their own copy to have
87. Share your favorite cup of tea with someone
88. Write an actual, hand held letter to someone who could use some cheering up
89. Start writing to a pen pal
90. Reduce, reuse, recycle
91. Start a community garden. Share the bounty
92. Teach someone how to cook a recipe that has been passed down through your family
93. Share one of your family’s tradition with someone you care about
94. Adopt a grandparent, figuratively speaking
95. Adopt a child, figuratively speaking
96. Invite some of the neighborhood kids to play on your video game console, with their parents’ permission, of course (don’t be that creepy neighbor) 😉
97. Make someone else’s dream come true
98. Teach a craft project to a much of children
99. Wave to people, whenever you get the opportunity. My favorite is waving to kids who are riding in the back of a school bus. They make me smile so hard
100. Start a knitting/crochet club. Even if you don’t know how, this would be a great way to learn!
101. Start a book club, and be willing to let everyone take turns choosing your group’s reading selections

See? That shouldn’t be so hard to choose at least a handful of these to incorporate into your life! I know that I am now inspired to see how many of these that I can tick off. This will be a fun way to make new friends, after our move to Portland!

Here is to a world full of people who go out of their way to love each other,