Hello Lovers,

I wonder if you can help me with a side project that I hope will help make the world a better place. Can you suggest some super simple ways people could do some good each day? (Something that would take 2 minutes or less each day)

Like:

Make Eye Contact & Say Hello to Strangers

Hold Open Doors for People Today

Tell a Stranger of the Same Sex Something Nice About Them

Tell a Stranger of the Opposite Sex Something Nice About Them

Tell a Friend How Much You Appreciate Them.

Etc.

Thank your postman, maybe even ask him how he's doing. My mailman is Mike. He's quite a happy dude. He wears shorts in the winter!

If you use the bus help the person struggling with the wee kid and the stroller and the shopping!

In shops even if the cashier is dour and grumpy smile and say thanks or wish them well in some way.

Treat everyone like you would want your mother to be treated...

Think of an old friend, then send an email or ecard and tell them.

Call cashiers/sales people by the name on their tag; it personalizes the interaction.

Say Thank You! often!

Smile at everyone you meet.

Hug your children, no matter how old they are.

Tell people how awesome they are.

Always say "Great Job" when it applies.

If you are feeling really great, pass it on!

Hope these help :)

hearts & hugs,
Starr

let things go ---- don't sweat the small stuff; don't make someone's day harder than it needs to be

:)

smile often and be nice to animals and plants.

Tell your loved ones you love them.
If you have an extra candy give it to a kid instead of throwing it away.
Drop a penny heads up on purpose so someone has a lucky day.
Pay the bridge toll for the driver behind you. (if you drive over a bridge ever)
Pick a wildflower and give it to your mother.
Let someone beat you at a game you're really good at.
Turn off the light when you exit a room.
Smile & laugh.

:)

let the people with fewer groceries go in front of you in line. oh, heck, let the person with more go in front once in a while, too.

let a driver out into busy traffic, even if the people behind you honk.

I'm not the most original person in the world and all of my ideas have already been said, but I heard this somewhere and it had an impact on me so I am sharing it with you:

Remember, a smile is the easiest thing to give away.

tell your family that you love them...

If you feel like bitching take a deep breath and if you have to say anything at all make it something positive instead :)

I like this thread it reminds me of my favourite saying -

It only take a moment to perform an act of kindness but it's impact can last a lifetime!

Most of the things I was going to say have already been listed, but here's one I try to do regularly -- I always say "Thank you for calling" before ending a conversation with a telemarketer, even if I am totally uninterested in whatever they're hawking. I figure it may not be possible for them to get a less annoying job right now, and they probably get hung up on a lot.

*When you are talking with someone, find something beautiful about them. Whether it's the way their eyes twinkles, the golden flecks in their eyes, maybe they are having a good hair day...anything. It will show in your eyes and then they will see it, too.

*Leave things better then when you found them. Example: stack your finished plates and bowls when dining out so the waitstaff can clean it up easier.

*When talking to a little one, get down to their eye level, and let them mess with your hair.

*Make someone's day.
1.Help a coworker with a paper jam
2. When eating M&Ms/skittles separate ones you know are somebody's faves
3.Leave them random love notes. Bathroom mirror and post-its of " honey, your biceps are lookin hot" or something as simple as a :) & <3

*feed someone's parking meter

*take a deep breath... people can sense your mood.

Reading this thread warms my heart, i'm surrounded by sweethearts in CL :)) Thanks for starting this Darius <3

I really like how CL is the internet's version of Care-a-lot.

One of my favourite quotes comes from the church down the street:: "Too blessed to be stressed!"

In my yoga class, we sing this really pretty song at the end; you may have seen it on my profile. Let me share it with you all. I love how it is a blessing upon another ::

May the long time sunshine upon you
All love surround you
And the pure light within you
guide your way on

;) I always say thank you into the camera at the ATM machine when I'm finished. hehehehehee.

When I'm shopping and I find something that has fallen onto the floor I always pick it up and put it back. You'd be amazed how many people just step over it and keep going. I taught my daughter to do it, too, when she was little, and now I see her doing it matter-of-factly when we're together.

lizcrimson wrote:

;) I always say thank you into the camera at the ATM machine when I'm finished. hehehehehee.

lol. I wave!

Be a mentor to a child or someone coming up in your profession.

Find a reason to laugh no matter how you are feeling. It will make you feel better and will infect those around you. (Really stupid jokes always work for this and seldom offend anyone).

Go to some site like www.refdesk.com and find the "good news" search option. Share something from the posts and block out bad news for part of the day.

Say hello to the shy or unpopular person in school or office. You may find a hidden treasure.

Help a visitor with directions.

Be philanthropic even in small ways.

Volunteer.

Think over your words. Correct those that could have been hurtful.

Send flowers (I guess you cannot do this every day).

Send flowers to a person that never seems to get any (no pun intended).

Revel in the spirituality of your own and the imperfection of others.

Build "still" time into your day so you will be open to new people.

Do not scorn the homeless. Support causes for them. You may be closer to their state than you think. All it takes is an uninsured catastrophic illness, a need to flee domestic violence with nothing, sustained job loss, addiiction (60 percent of the global population is addicted to something---drugs, alcohol, cigs, food/withholding food, sex, hoarding, religion, war....) mental illness, etc.

Practice, share and teach tolerance

- Send a postcard to a friend or family member. It doesn't have to say anything profound, it's just nice to get mail sometimes.

- Echoing Just Perfect Color's suggestion: send flowers out of the blue to someone. Start with mothers and grandmothers, or a female friend or family member who lives on her own

- Stop talking. Stop thinking about what you're going to say next and listen to the person talking to you.

- Ease off on the use of cell phones & iPods in public. Connect with the people around you instead of insulating yourself from them.

I love the cell phone suggestion. I wouldn't have one if I really didn't need a phone (it is my only one other than Skype now). I always turn it off when in a restaurant and so forth. They are banned completely from the courthouse here (too many features like cameras and voice recorders).

Remember the days when we didn't have them? You could get away with a long lunch now and then. You didn't have to worry about idjuts trying to text while driving.

I call them electronic cockroaches.

What a wonderful list. :)


Be especially kind to waiters/waitresses, always.

Sing into answering machines.

Pick up hitchhikers when you can.

Send a handwritten letter to someone you miss. (not really a 2 minute, daily thing)

Sadly, I would think twice about the hitchhikers.

I agree though, most of these suggestions are easy and wonderful!

these are a few things that I do whenever I get the chance.

- hold the door for someone. simple but it's something a lot of people have forgotten to do now a days
- I always say hi to the security guards at my school. so many kids just ignore them and it makes me sad most of them are really nice people. so that doorman or guard you see every day but don't think twice about, just say hi.
- be nice to cashiers! this one especially makes me feel good because I know how bad retail can be.
- hold the elevator for someone / squeeze in a bit closer so that last person can get in.
- say thank you!
- make a little present for a friend, family member or significant other just because.
- read a few pages of a book you've been meaning to read.

Yes... people always look surprised when I hold the door for them, especially men. hehe

A lot of the little courtesies that I try to hold myself to have already been listed here...

- call waitstaff and cashiers by name, or anyone who wears a name tag. You'll be more likely to remember their name in the future if you use it aloud, and they'll be more likely to remember you and/or your name when they realize you know theirs.

- try to retain the names of everyone single person you meet, even just in passing. You never know how handy it may be in the future.

- firm, sincere handshakes! whether you're a woman or a man, young or old, shaking the hand of a woman or man, old, young, even children... it goes a long way toward making a person feel acknowledged. I get a lot of flimsy, half-hearted handshakes, and they always feel a little disrespectful to me. Just watch out for little old ladies' brittle hands! :O

- common niceties, if they're very sincere, go surprisingly far. I always push myself to add "How are you today?" and "Have a nice ______" into every interaction. "Thanks, I really appreciate _______", anywhere and everywhere it fits, always feels good to the recipient.

- tip as much as you can afford to.

- when I have the extra cash, I occasionally will buy a stranger a drink anonymously.

- I agree with Lulu about being extra nice to animals and plants, and I always hold myself to never killing any of them without reason (which basically amounts to never killing anything ever). I would also include little children in this list, because sometimes they get overlooked as individual people.

- Smile at all the babies you find staring at you!

- pick up a piece of trash that isn't yours.

- throw fruits and vegetables that are just a little too ripe to eat into your backyard for deer to eat (if you live rurally.... otherwise don't throw your trash out the window :)

- every time you happen to find out what someone's birthday is, even if you're not that close, just scribble a note in your planner for that year, then it's super easy to remember to drop them a call, text message, post-it or email on that day. This really touches some people.




Linsomnia, I live in the mountains, and all our postpeople wear shorts in the winter too! I always try to leave a little mini-present in my mailbox for the postman around christmas time.

here's a profound one rarely used... I appreciate you- even to people who aren't your friends ;) That one really sets people beside themselves.

compliment and smile!

No suggestions, but just wanted all of you to know:
When I've had a really bad day and been dumped on a lot, I come home, fire up my computer and visit CL for a pick-me-up. Who needs booze, drugs, or psychotherapy when a few minutes with you guys works much better (and is much cheaper... no offense :) You guys are awesome people and the best on the web!!

Maybe I do have a suggestion, after all:
When you see someone who is unhappy, friendless, or thinks people don't care about each other any more, give them the link to COLOURlovers and invite them to visit us.

CYand3Labs is a Nobel Laurate genius :

...When you see someone who is unhappy, friendless, or thinks people don't care about each other any more, give them the link to COLOURlovers and invite them to visit us.

Make up Emergency Packets: a tissue wrapped around six M&Ms -- one of each standard color (this is important). Give them away to people having a bad day.

A friend did this to me once, and it cleared up my bad mood instantly. So I saved the packet and the next time I was down I opened it, ate the candy, had kind thoughts about my friend, and felt good again.