A Year Of Kindness - Challenge Week 52

We made it! One full year of weekly kindness challenges. Thank you all for playing along with me. I hope that while I was busy raising my own awareness of opportunities to be kind, I helped to raise yours as well.

In this final week, my challenge to you is to
SET AN INTENTION TO CONTINUE YOUR KINDNESS PRACTICE.

Whether in the form of a New Year's resolution, a part of a One Little Word practice, or simply as a concept that you are fully embracing, I hope you will continue to spread ripples of kindness throughout the world! :)

A Year Of Kindness - Challenge Week 51

Throughout the year, I have tried to highlight acts of kindness that cost you little or nothing other than a few minutes of your time. This week is my big exception to that rule.

In line with the Christmas spirit of giving, the challenge for Week 51 is  DONATE TO YOUR FAVORITE CHARITY.  

A Year Of Kindness - Challenge Week 50

Is your holiday shopping done, or do you still have a few last minute items on your list?  As I'm typing this, I know I have at least one more run to make. And while I'm out, I'll be looking for an opportunity to fulfill this challenge for week 50:

HELP A FELLOW SHOPPER

Whether you hold a door, carry bags to a car, let someone with only an item or two ahead of you in line, give directions to an area of the store, share coupons or information about sales for a product someone is looking at... just make someone else's shopping day a little brighter!

A Year of Kindness - Challenge Week 49

This week's challenge is short and sweet - VOLUNTEER YOUR TIME AND TALENTS.

There are unlimited opportunities for you to make use of your time and talents in service of others.

You could volunteer at the local library shelving books, at a food bank, or at the hospital as a greeter.
You could knit or quilt blankets for newborn preemies or sew pillowcases for children in the hospital.
You could help build homes. 

Whatever you choose to do, you'll know that you are helping others and I promise... you will feel so good about it!

AYear Of Kindness - Challenge Week 48

Can you believe it is December already?  I lost most of November to back pain and kidney stone issues. I'm grateful that I was well enough to be home and to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family. But I'm quite happy to bid adieu to November. Looking forward to a much kinder and gentler December!

And of course for most of us December means colder temperatures and Christmas. So the challenge for this week is to DONATE CLOTHING. 

Especially coats, hats, mittens, etc. Do a quick purge of your wardrobe and coat closet. Pull out anything that no longer fits, no longer suits, or is no longer needed. This is the time of year when the less fortunate really need these items. And there are so many places that will take your gently-worn pre-owned clothing off your hands! Some will even pick up. Just Google "Where can I donate clothes" and see for yourself.

A Year of Kindness - Challenge Weeks 46 and 47

For those of you who are my facebook friends, this is yesterday's news... but if you don't happen to be on facebook, let me catch you up with my life....

November has gone by in a blur of pain, starting with back pain, for which I began chiropractic treatment, but was finding absolutely no relief.  Then, on Saturday November 14, I was admitted to the hospital, via the Emergency Room, with some of the worst back and belly pain ever. Morphine became my new best friend. It was a kidney stone. With no improvement in pain levels (absent the meds) by Monday, a decision was made to proceed with surgery. Really it is a procedure, no cutting involved, called a ureteroscopy and the use of a laser to break up the stone (which was too large and too high up to pass on its own) into tiny fragments which can then pass on their own. The procedure is done under general anesthesia. Surgery was 2 p.m. on Monday and I was back in my room by 5:30 or so. And discharged home on Tuesday morning. I spent the remainder of last week going through the basic motions of living while still in a lot of pain.  Friday I had the stent (the worst part of the entire ordeal) removed.

Today is the first day I have felt almost human again. And I am so incredibly grateful. For the excellent medical facilities, for all the nurses who took such good care of me, for a relatively quick diagnosis and resolution, for the fact that I am home and able to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family - and all my girls are home too!

So I came to my blog feed to catch up on things and with over 200 unread posts, I had to declare amnesty. I have read or skimmed most of your news, but commented on very few things. Please forgive me. I hope to do better as I feel better!  It is also time to catch up with my Kindness Challenge blog posts. Having missed last Monday, I have two today. So I opened my calendar in which I had laid out suggested topics for the year... and what do I have written down for Week 46, for the very Monday I was in surgery?

VISIT SHUT-INS.  

Surely you have to see the humor in that? I laughed out loud when I read it. I had never considered the possibility that I would be one myself!  But having been there, let me just suggest this... if you hear of a friend or relative who is feeling poorly or in the hospital, reach out! Phone, text, visit, whatever. Plan to keep your outreach short - people in pain tend to tire very easily. But the contact I had while in the hospital, in the form of flowers, phone calls, text messages, Facebook comments, really did help me to feel better. To know that I wasn't alone. To know that people were thinking of me, praying for me, and wishing me well. I am SO GRATEFUL!

Which brings me to today. To Week 47 of the Kindness Challenge. And this week, being Thanksgiving week here in the U.S., my challenge to you is to EXPRESS GRATITUDE.  Think about all the things you have to be grateful for and express it! Say it in a blog post, say it in a scrapbook layout, tell the people you love how grateful you are to have them in your lives... however you wish to go about it is fine, but make this week the time to acknowledge all that is right and good and beautiful in your world!

A Year Of Kindness - Challenge Week 45

Thanksgiving is a mere two and a half weeks away here in the United States. It is at this time of year (well, not JUST at this time of year, but at this time particularly) that we pause to think of all we have to be grateful for... a roof over our heads, food on our table, clean water, clothing, warmth, companionship... all of our basic needs met, and we stop to consider those less fortunate than ourselves.

With that in mind, the challenge for Week 45, as you plan your Thanksgiving feast, buy a few extras to DONATE TO A FOOD PANTRY so that others may also enjoy a Thanksgiving meal.

Even if you don't celebrate Thanksgiving, I urge you to consider making a donation for those who are otherwise going hungry in your part of the world. Just google "food bank" along with your general region - appears they are all over the world!

A Year of Kindness - Challenge Weeks 43 & 44

Did you notice that Challenge Week 43 came and went without a peep from me? Well, here's the thing. I was busy being kind to ME. Seems I have hurt my back again and was unable to sit at the computer for any length of time and unable to concentrate... so I gave myself... and all of you... a pass week. A week to be kind to yourselves and concentrate on things that were more immediate to your own lives. Hope you enjoyed it!

This week I'm back. Not 100%, but I'm trying for the sake of living out my promise to keep this going for a year.

And here's the challenge for this week:  GIVE MEANINGFUL GIFTS. 

I have no doubt that I am once again preaching to the choir, but I'm going to say it anyway. Christmas is coming. And as you start thinking about what gifts you are going to give this year, practice kindness by thinking honestly about the recipient. What type of gift will truly bring them joy?

For example, you have on your list the person who has everything they really want... or who is actively trying to remove "clutter" from their lives. Buying this person another tie, scarf, or ornamental figurine might allow you to check them off your list... but is that being kind to them? Instead, think about experiences as a gift - how about tickets to the movies, a play, a sporting event? How about a class for a skill they have been wanting to learn?   Or let's suppose you have an avid collector on your list... who collects [fill in the blank]. I'm going to say owls. So instead of another dust-catching but otherwise useless owl figurine, how about making this person something useful with an owl motif? Maybe decorate the cover of an inexpensive journal with owls? Or knit/crochet a scarf with an owl motif in the pattern?  You get the idea.  Give the gift of experiences, of useful items, of hand-made with love, of yourself.

And obviously I'm not expecting this one to be fulfilled within the week. It is just something to keep in mind as you begin your holiday shopping.

A Year Of Kindness - Challenge Week 42

The responses to last week's suggestion to send a care package were so much fun! I love it when one of these ideas strikes a chord with you all.

For those of you across the pond still searching for the right fit for sending a care package, I had a thought... how about our sweet young blog friend Abi?  I don't know her Uni address, but I'm betting some of you do, and I'm sure she'd love a nice little package with tea and cookies or other fun little treats. I'm fairly certain she doesn't regularly follow my blog, so she won't know I've posted this.

For this week's challenge, let's all do something kind for a colleague or co-worker. A little praise, a cup of coffee, support on a project... whatever might make an office mate's day just a little easier, a little brighter.  Don't work outside the home? Then pick a neighbor or a worker at a local establishment that you frequent. Sometimes the smallest thing can make a big difference!

A Year of Kindness - Challenge Week 41

I want to make this week's challenge FUN... so without futher ado...

Your challenge for Week 41 is to SEND A CARE PACKAGE.  If this concept is puzzling you, never fear, I have ideas!

1. Send a care package to a kid in college/University. If it happens to be your own kid, awesome.  If not, borrow someone else's.  In addition to my own two, I've been sending the random package to young Taylor, whose own mother is not around to send her packages anymore.

Here is a link with some fantastic ideas for sending FUN themed care packages to college kids:  16 Care Packages

2. Send a care package to someone deployed in the military. If you know someone, send a personal package. If not, there are TONS of organizations that will help you to send a care package... click this link for a list.  While it maybe isn't as easy for my friends over in the U.K., I did find this source for sending a Christmas parcel.

3. If college/Uni kids and military personnel don't spark your imagination, how about making up a nice little basket for someone in a Senior Center, hospital, shelter, etc.  I'm sure the possibilities are endless with a little thought.

Whatever you do, remember to have FUN with this one!

A Year of Kindness - Challenge Week 40

When considering kindness as a whole, I didn't want to leave out our four-legged, furry, and/or feathered friends. Whether your faithful companion is a dog, cat, hampster, or bird, they all deserve to be acknowledged for the joy they bring into your life.

So this week's challenge is to PAMPER YOUR PET!  For the outdoorsy type, how about a car ride, nice long walk, or a romp in the park? For those who grace our homes but have no business in the wild... maybe a new toy and a little play time? Some grooming?  Or special treats?

Or maybe all your pet really needs is a little extra love and attention.

Don't have a pet? Pamper a friend's pet. Or consider a small donation to a local animal shelter. If all else fails, consider making friends with the dust bunnies under your bed.

A Year of Kindness - Challenge Week 38

So how did you TREAT yourself last week?  My weekend with Sarah (and her work friend Chad) at the Oprah Live the Life You Want weekend event was, in a word, phenomenal! Very uplifting and empowering. Lots of great things to mull over and implement in my life in the coming weeks. Wish I had the time to be more specific, but I'm sneaking this in before heading off to California. In fact, when this posts, I'll be boarding a plane...

One thing that everyone who reads this blog has in common is that we are a creative lot. From scrapbooking to knitting, mixed media to writing, photography to book making, this common thread binds us all.  This week's challenge is to REACH OUT to an artist who has influenced or inspired you - famous or not, it doesn't matter - and just say thank you. Let them know that their work has made a difference in your life. Everyone loves to know that what they are doing matters. That it touches others in one way or another. So pick someone and let them know!

A Year of Kindness - Challenge Week 37

I hope that last week you all had an opportunity to practice kindness by being nice to someone who annoys you. I had a few opportunities and was glad to take advantage of them and flex my patience muscles... those muscles still need some good work-outs... they tend to get flabby when I'm not paying close attention!

This week we are turning the tables back to ourselves - your challenge - TREAT YOURSELF.

Whether you give yourself a spa day, buy yourself some flowers, take yourself on a photo walk, gift yourself with time to be creative.... whatever you choose... just do something for yourself that will help you refill your own well.

I'm heading on a train to D.C. on Friday morning. Spending two days with my girl Sarah and going to see the "Oprah Live The Life You Want" weekend. I hope to come back inspired and full of energy.  Because I'm home for ONE day before I turn around and hop a plane to California for a work conference. I already feel as though I've been scarce on my blog and it is because September is proving to be a crazy month. Sarah was home the first weekend. I put her on the train on Monday afternoon, cleaned up the guest room on Tuesday, and picked my mother up from the airport on Wednesday. She was here through Saturday. And I feel like I am still trying to catch up with my own life while preparing for this next round of travel.  I'm pretty much gone for the rest of September!  So if you don't see me posting much or commenting on your blogs, that is why. Busy girl!

A Year Of Kindness - Challenge Week 36

This week I'm asking you to practice kindness by being kind to someone who annoys you. Give them extra attention and support. It can be so easy to turn away from or react adversely towards those who may most need your kindness when their behavior is less than pleasant. This is an opportunity to really hone your kindness skills and step outside of your natural reaction. See if you can turn them around with kindness!

A Year of Kindness - Challenge Week 35

I'm running late again. Jay and I were away for the long weekend and I'm still catching up on both life and sleep!

This week's challenge is to ACKNOWLEDGE VOLUNTEER WORKERS in your community. Take a tray of cookies to your volunteer fire fighters. Write a note of thanks to local groups that help in some way to make your community or environment a better place to live.  These unsung everyday heroes should be celebrated.  I am sure they would like to know that their efforts are making a difference and are appreciated

A Year of Kindness - Challenge Week 34

This week's challenge is short and sweet. LET SOMEONE ELSE GO FIRST.  So if you are shopping and someone only has an item or two, allow them in front of you in the check-out line (queue). If you are on the road, make space for a merging vehicle. With a friend or family member and you both have stories to share? Let the other person go first.  Just slow down enough in life to notice and let someone else ahead of you! It is a great way to practice patience too.

A Year of Kindness - Challenge Week 33

 I heard from several of you after last week's challenge that you donate school and/or art supplies regularly. Kudos! I went through our school supply cabinet and found that even after last year's massive purge, I still had more than we'll need of pens, pencils, erasers, so I culled our stock a bit more. Then I went to Staples and bought spiral notebooks, glue, pencils, and index cards. I took two large bags of donations to Pennridge Fish (our local food bank) and dropped them off. Felt pretty good too!

This week I'd like to honor Robin Williams with a challenge centered around a quote from him.  I've seen a lot of movies starring Robin Williams - Mrs. Doubtfire, Jumanji, Dead Poets Society, Good Will Hunting, Good Morning Vietnam, License to Wed.  There are just as many I haven't seen. But I want to.

But I know that his movies always touched me. He made me laugh.  He made my world a better place by being here. He will be missed.

Robin was quoted as saying:  "No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world."  I would like to believe that my little Kindness project is changing the world, or at least little bits of it, in some small way.

Your challenge this week is to USE YOUR WORDS to make the world a little better.  How you do that is up to you. Write an uplifting blog post. Write a letter to someone you love, letting them know how much they mean to you. Smile and say "hello" to everyone you come in contact with. Whatever it is, this week make a difference with your words.

A Year of Kindness - Challenge Week 32

This challenge this week is simple. As we are coming to the end of the Summer holidays/vacation and thinking about Fall and back-to-school, consider donating school supplies.

photo source

Check your own stash of office and art supplies first - do you have multiples or more than you need of anything? You might be surprised at what you have stock-piled in drawers and cupboards. Lined paper, notebooks, pens, pencils, erasers, glue, rulers, index cards, highlighters, crayons, colored pencils are all welcome items in schools where not all of the children can afford to bring their own.

Next check the sales. Right now you can cheaply purchase basic supplies from any of the major office supply stores (Staples, Office Max, etc.) or major department stores (WalMart, Target, etc.).  For example, this week at Staples you can buy spiral notebooks for 17 cents each, rulers at 25 cents each, school glue at 39 cents each, a box of twelve pencils for 68 cents and a pack of index cards for 48 cents.  At those prices, a mere $5 can purchase a sizable stash of school supplies.

Many places will accept school supply donations at this time of year - our local food bank runs a drive for school supplies for area children. Some of the stores selling supplies will take your purchased donations and deliver them to area schools for you. You can also drop supplies off directly at schools in need. You may not get to see the smile on the face of the child who receives your donation, but you can feel good knowing that it will be appreciated and used!

A Year of Kindness - Challenge Week 31

So how did your week of practicing self-compassion go? I had lots of opportunities to cut myself some slack because I wasn't feeling well over the weekend. Nothing specific, just that blah feeling like you are trying to fight off something. I allowed myself lots of rest and didn't push to accomplish other than the basic necessities (laundry, grocery shopping). Happy to say it worked and I feel better today!

This week's challenge is one for when you are out and about anyplace touristy... so if it doesn't fit for this week, just keep it in mind for a week that it does work.  The challenge is OFFER TO TAKE PHOTOS FOR COUPLES/FAMILIES.  It can be rare and difficult for a couple or an entire family to get EVERYONE in the photo - so step up and offer to help them out! They will appreciate it and you will feel good for doing it!

Back in May, I was the photographer for this photo of Melissa and Robbie taken on Robbie's camera. I played a little in Photoshop, adding the Pioneer Woman's "lovely" filter and RadLab's "Sparta" filter.

A Year of Kindness - Challenge Week 30

Last week's challenge was to Practice Compassion. In my blog post, I focused on the concept of compassion for others. On the concept of not judging in situations and circumstances where you may not have all the facts or know the entire story. Read here for a great article on how compassion is the secret to happiness and good health.

This week I want to turn that concept inward. This week's challenge is to Be Compassionate With Yourself.  Because honestly, care and love toward other human beings starts with care and love toward yourself.

Being compassionate with yourself means not judging yourself any more than you would judge another.

Being compassionate with yourself means cutting yourself some slack when life gets overwhelming.

Being compassionate with yourself means doing something that you know makes you happy when you are feeling blue.

And sometimes being compassionate with yourself means acknowledging that you are ENOUGH.

So the next time that mean girl voice is whispering in your ear that you are not good enough, not pretty enough, not thin enough, not smart enough, not creative enough, or not fill-in-the-blank enough, march yourself to a mirror, look yourself right in the eye and say "I am uniquely AWESOME." Because you are!

I saw the words "Uniquely Awesome" painted on a mirror in a shop in Ocean City two weekends ago and thought that was such a wonderful idea. I looked at myself in that mirror and said to myself "Why Yes, I am. Thank you very much."  I know it sounds silly, but when you hear that voice, and I know that YOU know the one I mean... JUST DO IT! Just march to the nearest mirror and say "I am uniquely AWESOME."  Then give yourself a big smile. You deserve it.


Image Source.   That Dalia Lama sure was a smart dude, eh?

Make sure to leave me a comment telling me that you did it! No, not that it... The look-in-the-mirror-and- say-I-am-uniquely-awesome it!