Saturday, November 3, 2018

How Do We Soften the World? 100 Ways to Make Life Lighter

100) Smile and compliment the people you encounter as you encounter them.
99) Give someone else the premium parking spot.
98) Write more letters.
97) Read a book to a child.
96) Put on beautiful music.  Kids right now into jazz, pretending the house is a night club, complete with flashlights acting as spotlights. 
95) Exercise (I know, but taking care of you counts too). 
94) Spend some time in prayer for someone you know needs it.  (It can be you). 
93) Plan a date. 
92) Clean a room. 
91) Recycle more than you planned.
90) Clean out a garden, so it's ready for winter. 
89) Give food to the local pantry.
88) Offer to carpool for someone who normally takes on the task. 
87) Vote.
86) Eat in, as a family.
85) Decorate for the holiday, will yourself into the right mood. 
84) Play a game. 
83) Find out what you can do to get involved in the local level about something of import. 
82) Comfort the mourning --by visiting a graveyard, calling on a widow, or sitting with someone who is facing a hard trial and just being there.
81) Volunteer at a school or a nursing home or hospital, make it a regular habit. 
80) Read the news, stay informed, push beyond your own bubble of understanding or preference. 
79) Turn off the screens when you go out with people. 
78) Turn off the screens when you stay in with people. 
77) Go to a museum.
76) Build a fire, spend the evening beside it. 
75) Purge your closet, donate what doesn't fit. 
74) Sit in adoration.
73) Invite someone out for lunch. 
72) Put cut flowers on the table. 
71) Wrap and mail a birthday present, instead of pushing the buttons through Amazon. 
70) Draw. 
69) Dance.
68) Take a family photo, get it developed and framed. 
67) Write family tree.
66) Write family history.
65) Institute family game night.
64) Have a monthly date night with each of your kids (I know, for me this would take up 1/3 of the month).  
63) Call your siblings. 
62) Call friends you haven't reached out to in a while. 
61) introduce your kid to a classic movie.
60) Vote.
59) Organize a drawer.
58) Tuck in your kids at bed time. Kiss them goodnight. 
57) Clean someone else's room.
56) Sign up for a clean up along a park.
55) Bake cookies for someone.
54) Visit a historical site. 
53) Listen to a free concert.
52) Text your kids, "I love you." They'll secretly love it.
51) Sing something from the radio, with everything you've got.
50) Plan a trip.
49) Spend some time out looking at the stars, finding constellations.
48) Bake breakfast, make it something special.
47) Pray a rosary for someone.  Send them a note letting them know.
46) Tip well.
45) fast for someone. 
44) Invite someone over to give them a feast.  (Maybe the same person).
43) fix something that needs fixing that you've been fixing to...
42) Support a local business.
41) Make a donation to a charity.
40) Plant bulbs for the spring.
39) Take a family photo. 
38) Plan a neighborhood pot-luck to meet your neighbors.
37) Be a good sport.
36) Practice listening, and asking questions, rather than jumping in...(I so need to work on this).
35) Do an examination of conscience, really look at where you fall down.
34) Be unafraid to speak. 
33) Call your folks.
32) Thank a teacher of your kids.
31) Plan as a family to spend a week with no take-out or fast food, donate what you didn't spend.
30) try something new.
29) Make a bucket list of your hopes/dreams/goals.
28) Make a list of the things that keep you from #29.
27) Compliment your spouse. 
26) Give someone a foot rub.
25) Do the dishes/chore whatever it is, without being asked, and without pointing it out. 
24) Make a list of gifts you hope to give.
23) Find out where the local shelter is for crisis pregnancies.  Call and ask what they need.
22) Write a letter to your representative/senator about an issue.
21) Apologize to someone.
20) Defend someone.
19) Remember all behavior is communication, so ask when something is wrong, angry, upset, loud or cruel, the why/reason behind the harshness...meet harsh with kind/clear, meet wrong with gentle correction, angry with kindness, upset with sympathy, and loud with quiet...it will melt more of what is wrong than anything else.
18) Take some time to rest.
17) laugh more.
16) reconnect with a friend you've lost touch with...
15) read a book to yourself.
14) write something for your children to read later.
13) practice music if you play an instrument, for fifteen minutes a day.
12) Make a list of your to do's you've been putting off. Pick one and do it.
11) Hug your children often.
10) Teach your kiddos how to cook something you learned that is a family tradition.
9) Be more generous than you planned when the opportunity presents itself. (With time, treasure and talent).
8) Be kind in real life.
7) Be kind online.
6) Be kind in what you say.
5) Be kind in what you don't say.
4) Be kind in thoughts.
3) Be kind in what you do.
2) Be kind in what you do not do.
1) Above all, in all things, to everyone, in every situation, be kind. 

No comments:

Leaving a comment is a form of free tipping. But this lets me purchase diet coke and chocolate.

If you sneak my work, No Chocolate for You!