Blogging Your Blessings

"Only connect." - E.M. Forster Put down your smart phone and make eye contact. Person to person.  Nowadays, I consider that a major acts of kindness and courtesy.

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!

Make your Christmas presents this year. It’s more personal and will save you money. From a tin of homemade fudge to a colorful knitted scarf, your family and friends are sure to appreciate your hard work and thoughtfulness. You can also think bigger! I have a favorite resource that lists many ways to knit, sew and quilt your way to a better world. www.handcraftedwithlove.net :       Socks For Soldiers knits socks for soldiers serving in the Middle East.       Stitch for a Cause knits, crochets, sews, and quilts blankets and infant apparel for local children's agencies. Based in Louisville, KY, USA.       Stitches From the Heart sends handmade clothing and blankets to premature babies across the nation. Based in Santa Monica, CA, USA.       Stitching Up The World knits, crochets and sews items to donate to a variety of organizations. Their main effort is items for chemothe...

Muchas Gracias I learned from my globetrotting friend, Santosh that one of the nicest things a traveller can do is to learn how to say the basics in the language of the locals. He stressed that saying THANK YOU is the MOST important word of all.  His guide to global gratitude is below: Czech: Děkuji Danish: Tak Dutch: Dank u Estonian: Tänan teid Filipino: Salamat Finnish: Kiitos French: Merci Gaelic: Go raibh maith agat German: Danke Hungarian: Köszönöm Indonesian: Terima kasih Italian: Grazie Japanese: Arigato Latvian: Paldies Norwegian: Takk Polish: Dziękuję Portuguese: Obrigado Romanian: Mulţumesc Spanish: Gracias Swahili: Asante Swedish: Tack Vietnamese: Cảm ơn bạn Welsh: Diolch yn fawr

NFL player James Jones knows it’s better to give than to receive “Being homeless made me a better man,” says James Jones, wide receiver for the Oakland Raiders since 2014. “And while I wouldn’t wish anyone to go through that, I wouldn’t change anything as far as how I grew up.” Having slept in shelters and on park benches for the first fifteen years of his life, Jones’ success as an athlete defies stereotypes about homelessness and poverty. He has taken his challenging experiences to heart. Since being drafted to the NFL in 2007, he has volunteered for many community organizations, and in 2008, started his own with his wife Tamika. The LoveJones4Kids foundation provides funding for school supplies, football camps, and pep talks to underprivileged children, many of them living in the same conditions that Jones did growing up. “People are used to hearing about a homeless person or kid and don’t think it’s possible to be a professional football player. But down on your lu...

You're seen those bumper stickers, the ones encouraging you to commit “random acts of kindness?”  What they can’t tell you in that little space is how performing those acts can be a way of transforming yourself. When you begin to focus on extending kindness toward others, you’ll feel more kindness coming toward you. Not only will you make someone else’s day better, you’ll be surprised at how well yours improves. It’s rather like the “secret Santa” gift exchange that many offices and families adopt during the weeks leading up to Christmas. There is delight when you do something for another while keeping your identity a secret. When you watch a person receiving a surprise gift, you see their face change, the eyes open wide with delight, a smile bursting into a grin, and laughter erupting. They appear to feel sheer joy at the unexpected. The old adage is true: “It is in giving that we receive.” The other part of the quote, which is by a San Francisco writer named Anne Herbert, is oft...

Write Letters and Send Postcards The things that make me the happiest have an emotional and physical effect.  And even more so when you do something for someone else.  One of the most lasting of these things is a personal letter. Being born in the transitional time between letters and computers, many people in my generation have already shunned snail mail as a way to communicate. This makes them rare, but a very inexpensive surprise. My grandmother was one of seven children, and they communicated with a round-robin letter. From mailbox to mailbox, they would add an update on their life and send it around to the next sibling. She taught me that letters are a valuable form of communication, something she’s emphasized as her memory slowly fades. I got into the habit of writing letters and during the times where I was most stressed, a paper due, a newspaper deadline, or turmoil, I would write a letter. Letters live somewhere between thoughts and stories. They are a confid...

Keep a compact reusable bag in your purse for those spur-of-the-moment purchases Refuse a plastic bag for five items or less Fit purchases from different stores into the same bag wherever possible. There’s no reason to have eight shopping bags with only one item in each. Put your cloth bags back in your car as soon as you’re done unloading groceries. There’s less chance of forgetting them at home that way (and you’ll be one step closer to using them!). Keep them on the front seat, rather than in the trunk. If you see them, you’ll be far less likely to forget them.

– Happy Halloween!  Bowl of candy? Check. Costume on? Check. Pumpkins carved? Check. Today is All Hallow’s Eve and what better day to dress up, go out, and overindulge on sugary sweets? However, take a few precautions before venturing out: ·   If you have kids, don’t let them trick-or-treat without supervision ·   Don’t let your child eat candy that doesn’t come in a wrapper ·   Hold a flashlight when outside so drivers can see you ·   But Halloween doesn’t have to be all about the sugar rush and crazy costumes. It can also be a very charitable day: ·        Make cards of kindness ·        Some children are too ill to go out trick or treating. Make homemade Halloween cards for hospitalized children with life-threatening illnesses and mail to either Love Letters: Random Cards of Kindness or Hugs and Hope . 2 ·        Send candy to the troops...

Teaching others is hard word and can be a thankless job. Whether you are a student or have kids in school, approach your/their teacher and tell them what a great job they are doing.  Adopt A Classroom goes to the head of the class in my book for the good work they do: AdoptAClassroom.org gives teachers a hand by providing needed classroom materials so that students can succeed. It is estimated that more than 15 million children don’t have the resources they need to succeed in school and that teachers spend more than $1 billion a year stocking their own classrooms due to a lack of funding in schools. Supporting K-12th grade students, including public, private, and charter school classrooms, AdoptAClassroom.org makes it easy for donors to provide funding and support to classrooms throughout America. Teachers register their classrooms and needs online; donors discover classrooms through simple search tools, and make targeted contributions.    Their goal is to connect dono...

Operation Gratitude I learned about his from my mom whose church regularly sends cards,letters and care packages overseas to the armed forces. My mom and her fellow church ladies bake some of the best cookies in the world so they gather up all kinds of goodies and treats and send them overseas where the taste of “down home” surely brings many smiles of satisfaction. Those who are less gifted in the baking department, such as ME, can make $15 donation to Operation Gratitude, which pays for one care package for one serviceperson. Operation Gratitude has end over a million of these kindness kits around the world!

Help Those Who Help Themselves Empower an entrepreneur with a loan through Kiva . You can give as little at $25 dollars to entrepreneurs in developing countries to help eliminate poverty. Throughout the life of the loan, you will receive updates on the progress of the project and will be repaid by the borrower with Kiva Credit—which you can use to fund another project or withdraw. http://www.kiva.org/ I have bought some really lovely pillows baskets and bangle bracelets made in India by women whose creativity was sent soaring by Kiva!

True generosity, with no strings attached, expecting nothing in return, and without scorekeeping, is a direct expression of abundance. Be generous with your time and skills by volunteering for something you believe in; leave an extra tip for the wait staff; give away thank-you’s. Go through your closet and gather up things you don’t wear or use and donate them to a homeless shelter or people in need. Medieval scribe and exalted thinker St. Augustine taught that “Charity is the virtue that brings us closest to God.”

Give Away Your Old Stuff Do a favor for people in need and give away some of the things you no longer need or use or wear.  Others would be happy to have it and it will help you simplify your life and enjoy your time more.  Find a few locations that you can drop off your stuff or call an organization that collects your goods to redistribute to those in need. There are Goodwill’s or Salvation Amy centers in every town, large or small so you can donate there to help others and quickly.  Nowadays, it might be best to take an old suitcase you don't use anymore and and pack extra clothes, towels, blankets and very practical items anyone woiuld need to be able to donate it to the victims of the recent California wildfires. Some of my friends lost their homes, pets, cars and jobs to the fires of the last few days so I am packing up care packages to deliver. You might not love your old suitcase or last year's comforter anymore but someone you love who lost everything in ...

  When I lived in the Lower Height district of San Francisco, I drove for an AIDS food bank in my rusted-out little car I had driven across the country from West Virginia. I had arrived in the mid-eighties, which we may all remember as the height of the AIDS crisis. My best friend delivered meals to patients in their homes and I gave rides and also hauled groceries donated to the food bank by the Church Street Tunnel. One early morning, I was walking to the Market and Church Street MUNI station and there it was with giant pink letters announcing itself as a place to lend a hand for the AIDS cause. I went in and within two minutes had a shift and assignments for the week.  Plus everyone in there seems extremely cool to me and they were not grim at all but seemed to have a mission of importance.  It seemed such a small way to help during that scary time but I also learned that whatever you can give, large or small, it is important to give of yourself. And it all does add u...

If you love to cook and love to help people, this might be the option for you; teaching cooking classes and offering your services as a free guide to getting the healthiest groceries at the best prices via Cooking matters, a division of Share Our Strength.   What I love about this is that it is personal and oh-so practical. www.CookingMatters.org pairs you up with your local group and you can bake up a lot of love while showing others how to do the same. 

Sometimes we all feel deflated or overwhelmed, someone or something hurts us or disappoints us, or we hear bad news about a loved one’s medical condition. On those days, when you feel your light has gone out, remember there is always a glimmer of hope and something to be thankful for. Albert Schweitzer said it well: “Sometimes our light goes out, but is blown again into instant flame by an encounter with another human being. Each of us owes the deepest thanks to those who have rekindled this inner light.”

From Growing Up Homelses to Helping the Homeless NFL player James Jones knows it’s better to give than to receive “Being homeless made me a better man,” says James Jones, wide receiver for the Oakland Raiders since 2014. “And while I wouldn’t wish anyone to go through that, I wouldn’t change anything as far as how I grew up.” Having slept in shelters and on park benches for the first fifteen years of his life, Jones’ success as an athlete defies stereotypes about homelessness and poverty. He has taken his challenging experiences to heart. Since being drafted to the NFL in 2007, he has volunteered for many community organizations, and in 2008, started his own with his wife Tamika. The LoveJones4Kids foundation provides funding for school supplies, football camps, and pep talks to underprivileged children, many of them living in the same conditions that Jones did growing up. “People are used to hearing about a homeless person or kid and don’t think it’s possible to be a ...

Here's how you can knit, sew and quilt your way to a better world. www.handcraftedwithlove.net :       Socks For Soldiers knits socks for soldiers serving in the Middle East.       Stitch for a Cause knits, crochets, sews, and quilts blankets and infant apparel for local children's agencies. Based in Louisville, KY, USA.       Stitches From the Heart sends handmade clothing and blankets to premature babies across the nation. Based in Santa Monica, CA, USA.       Stitching Up The World knits, crochets and sews items to donate to a variety of organizations. Their main effort is items for chemotherapy patients in New Hampshire, Based in Candia, NH, USA.       Threads of Love provides clothing, blankets and other handmade articles for premature and sick infants. Threads of Love has chapters in the United States, Canada and London, England.  ...