Blogging Your Blessings

  Be a Good in the World Take stock of your day-to-day life. Are you giving to others or is a little out of balance where your work, your immediately family gets 99% of what you offer the world?  You can change that in one day. Donate more of your time or money to a charity. Supporting a cause will help keep you informed about social issues and can strengthen your sense of well being while benefitting others in the process 

Think about how you can create little moments of happiness for others. Helping a friend plant her garden, buying an extra coffee for your coworker, paying the toll for the car behind you on the bridge, even taking your kids to a movie.  All those little things can add up to BIG joy

The holidays can be a difficult time for many people who don’t have family nearby, a home to sleep in, or food to eat. A great way to be a good in the world is to do good for the world and the people who inhabit it. Volunteer a few hours of your time to work in a soup kitchen and help serve those who are in need of a hot meal. You can also use this time to get your family involved and impart good moral values on your children. For many years running, I have volunteers at Glide Memorial Church in downtown San Francisco and enjoyed each and every minute of it.   I bet your community has a place like Glide that can be your “happy place” meaning that you make other people happy and that alone filled YOU with joy.   But if you find yourself in the San Francisco Bay Area around Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Years, come on down and we’ll have fun together serving up some love: -           GLIDE on over and Serve a Meal! The Volunteer Resource Program at GLIDE places about 10,000 vol

Think about the things that motivate and inspire you and how you can inspire others. What lifts you up? Who fills you with hope and happiness? Cultivate these qualities in yourself and pay attention to who provides your “day lifters.” You may be surprised!

Buy an artificial Christmas tree. People love my blue and silver “disco tree” which I got at yard sale a few years ago. It is VERY festive!  On average, over 30 million Christmas trees are sold in the United States each year—that’s over 30 million trees cut down each year, trees we could be saving and using for oxygen, housing material, and paper products instead of decoration for a small amount of time. Consider buying an artificial tree—you will save money within the first few years and they look just as nice without the mess of pine needles! http://urbanext.illinois.edu/trees/facts.cfm

Don’t want or need anything for Christmas? Have a friend or loved one that wants something unique? Visit www.heifer.org to view and purchase some of the most helpful and generous gifts that can be given—but they’re not for you or anyone you know. Heifer International is an organization that works with communities to end hunger and poverty by providing sustainable agriculture and animals to families in need. You can “purchase” a goat for $120, a flock of geese for $20, a hope basket for $50, and browse the website for other options. These gifts are priceless (figuratively) and won’t go unappreciated or unused. Think about the positive impact you can make on family-a world of difference, actually!