Kindness.

A simple, proven way to make you feel better.

Reach out to others.   Random acts of kindness are fun and make you feel good inside and they don't have to be that complicated.  For example, you could get a dollar bill and some quarters, go to Walmart and put a quarter in each of the gumball machines or the drink machines, hide a dollar in the toy section for a child to find and on your way out, if there's a donation machine for a local children's hospital, put whatever you have left in there.  It's fun! 

Here's the best list of random acts of kindness I have seen, it has 83 different ones!  

http://www.bradaronson.com/acts-of-kindness/

Or just be kind to someone who lives in your home.  Do their chore before they get a chance to, leave a note for them under their pillow, to let them know you love them.  Pet your dog or cat.  Get a bunch of fun things for your family, put them on the front porch, ring the doorbell, then run around and come in the back door as if nothing has happened.  An act of kindness for yourself might be giving yourself a break on something, taking it easy one day or buying yourself some flowers.  Just having flowers in your home has been proven to help with depression. 

 

Ways to actively fight depression.

Here's a link to a good article on Psychology Today.  Fight it.  Fight it hard.  

Here's an excerpt:    

"To begin this process, it is helpful to think of these destructive thoughts as being like the parasites that keep you in bed when you're sick with the flu. Don't listen to these attacks when they tell you not to pursue your goals, to isolate yourself, or to forego an activity you enjoy. This gives the voice even more power over you. Instead, when you notice these thoughts and attitudes starting to intensify and take precedence over your more realistic, positive ways of thinking, it is essential to identify them as an alien point of view. Ask yourself, would you think such cruel thoughts about a friend or family member who was experiencing the same struggles. By having compassion for yourself and recognizing this inner voice as a destructive enemy, you can begin to see who you are more clearly and realistically." 

One of the ways I fight depression is art journaling.  It helps me get into a state of flow.  Try and find what works for you.

Now read the rest.  

To quote my favorite 21 Pilots song, Holding Onto You

Remember the moment you know exactly where you're going,'Cause the next moment, before you know it,Time is slowing and it's frozen still,And the window sill looks really nice, right?You think twice about your life, it probably happens at night,Right? Fight it, take the pain, ignite it,Tie a noose around your mind loose enough to breathe fine and tie it,To a tree, tell it, "You belong to me,This ain't a noose, this is a leash,And I have news for you, you must obey me."

Here's a link to the song on You Tube.  The song is good, the video is weird.  :-)  

Let me sum up.

On this blog, so far, we have explored the science behind many different ways to improve your mood.  We've looked at how doing things for others can make you feel better, how practicing an attitude of gratitude can also help.  Those are the things you have heard of.  Some of the things that I am learning while researching and writing this blog and trying to hold on tightly to my own joy (and sanity) are just plain fascinating and frankly, kind of weird.

Here are some of the ways in a handy, printable form.  Hang this up someplace, use it as a background on your phone or tablet, do some of these things.  Honestly, I think the yogurt, which is the only one I have been doing consistently, may have saved my life this week.  Seriously, try to do them everyday!  Here they are.

Free and Cheap Random Acts of Kindness, Part 9.

Give a restaurant gift card to someone standing by the road with a sign asking for help.  Get a few to keep in your car for this reason.

Be a coach in the Special Olympics.  Go to   http://www.specialolympics.org  or call 1 (800) 700-8585 to see how you can help.

Sponsor a child - This is more personal that just donating to a charity.  There are several organizations through which you can do this.

www.worldvision.org

Phone: (888) 511-6443

P.O. Box 9716

Federal Way, WA 98063-9716

Or

www.savethechildren.org

1.800.728.3843

or email twebster@savechildren.org

These are only 2 of many.  Find one you believe in and give.

Volunteer at a local hospital.  Fix a meal, hold a hand, hold a baby, water the plants, show people around.  Again, there are jobs for everyone.  Look up your hospital on line or give them a call to find out how to get started.

Foster a pet.  Help socialize them so that they may be adoptable later on.  www.petfinder.com

Become a CASA volunteer.  Be the voice of a child in court.  http:www.casaforchildren.org  or call 800-628-3233

   Build a house - or help anyway, with Habitat for Humanity.  www.habitat.org  or call 1-800-HABITAT

Take a volunteer vacation. 

www.globalaware.org

http://www.travelocity.com/TravelForGood/index.html

http://www.volunteerinternational.org

If you haven't found what you want to do yet, check out www.volunteermatch.org for all kinds of volunteer work, even administrative work you can do without leaving home!

Just for fun, plan an outing doing as many good deeds as you can.  For example:   Send some fun mail.  Head out to your local hospital and put dollars on the vending machines with notes.  Put quarters on all the gumball machines you see.  Go to a drive through and pay for the person behind you (Make it a McDonald's and you can donate to Ronald McDonald House Charities while you are there).  Drop some baked goods at the fire department.  Go to a store to get some yarn for the Linus blanket you are going to make later.  Put the change you get back from your purchase into the Coinstar and choose a charity.  When you get back home, visit all the web sites listed at the beginning of this book that are free and make donations and play Free Rice for a little while.  For less than the cost of 1 dinner and a movie, you can have so much fun helping others.

"It is one of the most beautiful compensations of life that no person can help another without helping themselves.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Have a great day! 

Free and Cheap Random Acts of Kindness, part 8.

For the crafty - you can knit, crochet or do other needlework for charity.   

http://projectlinus.org/volunteer/

Click on your state to find where to drop off blankets.

Our volunteers, known as “blanketeers,” provide new, handmade, washable blankets to be given as gifts to seriously ill and traumatized children, ages 0-18. It is Project Linus' policy to accept blankets of all sizes, depending on local chapter needs. All blanket styles are welcome, including quilts, tied comforters, fleece blankets, crocheted or knitted afghans, and receiving blankets in child-friendly colors. Always remember that blankets must be homemade, washable, free of pins, and come from smoke-free environments due to allergy reasons.

Crochet a mat for the homeless out of grocery bags.  Here's a link to an Instructables tutorial of how to make the "plarn".  http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-Plarn-3/

Once you've made a bunch of the plarn, then you just single crochet until you have a mat 3 feet wide and 6 feet long.  It only takes a couple of months.    

Free and Cheap Random Acts of Kindness, Part 7

Donate through CoinStar.  You know the machines in front of many stores that will count your change.  They will also take charitable donations.  Any size donation will be accepted.  CoinStar supports these charities:   American Red Cross, Audubon, Autism Speaks, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Change Making Change, Children's Miracle Network, Feeding America, Humane Society of U.S.,     Jumpstart, Ronald McDonald House Charities, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, UNICEF and World Wildlife Fund.

Sell something you no longer need on Ebay and donate the proceeds.  Ebay has a program called Ebay Giving Works and you can choose how much you want to donate.

Help The Ronald McDonald House Charities.  Of course you can always drop your change in the charity boxes at every McDonald's restaurant, but if you live near a Ronald McDonald House, you can also donate your time.  They have a 30 ways in 30 days list on their website with 30 ways you can help.  http://rmhc.org/how-you-can-help/volunteer/30-ways-in-30-days/

These include bringing baked goods, planting flowers, cooking a meal, decorating a room.  There are all kinds of jobs here for all kinds of volunteers, whether you are good with people, a good cook or good with plants.  Anyone who can answer a phone can help.  If you are housebound, you can collect pop tabs from aluminum cans for their program.  Phone: 630-623-7048
Email: info@rmhc.org

If not now, when?

I'm challenging you, today, to do at least one random act of kindness.  It will make you feel better as well as the recipient.   For some of them, you don't have to put down your phone or get out of your chair.   Seriously, do it now.

Cheap and Free Random Acts of Kindness Part 6.

Have a un-birthday party at your home.  Bake a cake, decorate, invite friends and ask them to bring the amount of money they would spend on your birthday present as a donation to your charity.  Fun ones for this could be Heifer International or World Vision (www.heifer.org or donate.worldvision.org).  You could divide your guests into teams and have them compete against each other to see where the money would go.  Imagine how much fun to play as team goat or team chicken and then send the money to a charity at the end of the party.)

Free and Cheap Random Acts of Kindness Part 5.

Hand out bottles of water to workers on a hot day; of course be careful not to hold up traffic. 

Pay for someone's toll or hamburger, in line behind you at a drive through.  (If you are worried about how much this will cost, just say, I'd like to pay $5.00 of the cost of the meal for the person behind me, or please give the person behind me a free ice cream cone, on me and tell them to have a great day!)

Get some travel size toiletries and donate them to a hospital.  The hospital I volunteer for is a Children's Hospital and they accept all kind of supplies, new toys or stuffed animals, toiletries for parents who have to stay overnight such as shampoo, deodorant and tooth paste/brushes.  Call your local hospital and ask what you can do.

Have a bake sale and donate the proceeds to your favorite charity.

Free and cheap random Acts of Kindness, Part 4.

Send happy mail.  Did you know you can mail a small package of candy or a small toy priority mail with stamps?  If it weighs less than 13 ounces, you can put stamps and an address on it and drop it in a post office box.    Look at  https://www.usps.com/ to calculate how much it will cost.

I looked it up today and here are some general guidelines, although prices change frequently.

To mail a 1 ounce package just about anywhere in the United States from my address was 2.07 and to mail a 13 ounce package was 3.77 no matter what zip code I put in.  Just for fun, mail someone a package of crayons, a candy bar, a book or a small toy.  Make someone's day.  This is great for the grandkids, but everyone is a kid at heart!

Free and Cheap Random Acts of Kindness Part 3.

Put a couple of quarters on a gumball machine for a child to find, or put a dollar on a vending machine (especially in a hospital!) with a little note that says something like, "Enjoy this random act of kindness.".   This is so fun! 

Reach out to your neighbors.  Bake loaves of banana bread, wrap and deliver them. 

Send someone a little note, a thank you card.  Thanksgiving is a great time of year to send a note to say thank you to someone who has been a help to you.  

Free and Cheap Random Acts of Kindness, Part 2.

Free things to do. 

• Do someone in your family's chores.
• Visit an old friend.
• Call someone and ask how they are doing.
• Pray for a friend or even a stranger.  (Read Praying for Strangers by River Jordan for inspiration.)
• Pick up litter.
• Smile at someone.
• Hold the door for someone.
• Take the carts in at a grocery store.
• Donate your old stuff to charity.
• Forgive someone.
• Write a note to someone and hand deliver it.  This is especially great with your in-house family members, husband and kids.  
• Elijah's Hope Go to www.elijahshope.net and commit to pray for an orphan every day.  There is no monetary donation involved, just your time.  Unlike the other sites in the last section, you will have to register with the site and provide an email address.
• Walk or run for charity.  Find a list of charity walk events at http://www.charitywalksblog.com/charity-walk-events/.  
• Walk to help find a cure for cancer.
• http://www.relayforlife.org/
• http://www.ndss.org/buddy-walk/ for Down's syndrome
• http://www.lung.org/donate/events/lung-walk/   Lung Walk
• http://startwalkingnow.org/start_heart_walk.jsp Heart Walk
• http://www.runforcharity.com/running-events/
• fundraising.stjude.org .  Become a St. Jude Hero and "Run for a Reason".  There are many opportunities to help here. 
• http://www.stjude.org/volunteer or call 800) 822-6344, Monday – Friday, 7 a.m. – 11 p.m. CT.
• Donate blood or help others do so.  www.redcrossblood.org or 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767). If you can't give blood, you can be a greeter, a phone assistant or a driver. 

Twenty Five Ways To Spread Some Kindness.

http://lauragraceweldon.com/2012/07/17/25-ways-to-spread-some-kindness/

Check out this post on Laura Grace Weldon's blog.  It's the same kind of thing we're talking about.

Free and Cheap Random Acts of Kindness - Part 1.

Random Acts of Kindness You Can Do Right Now!

1.     Visit The Hunger Site and donate food to someone who is hungry.  This is free to do. 

www.thehungersite.com

2.  Visit The Breast Cancer Site and donate a portion of a mammogram to a woman in poverty, just by clicking!  You could actually save someone's life.  Think about it!

www.thebreastcancersite.com

3.     Visit The Animal Rescue site and donate a bowl of food to a homeless animal in a shelter.

www.theanimalrescuesite.com

4.     Go to The Veterans Site to donate a meal to someone who has served our country.

www.theveteransite.com

5.     Go to The Autism Site to donate free therapy to an autistic child.  While you are there, do some shopping.  Their silicone bracelets are very cute.

www.theautismsite.com

6.     The Child Health Site - This is where you can donate health care to a child.  They keep a running total of the number of children who have been helped each day at the bottom of the page that you will see after you click and donate.  On the day I was writing this, 204 children had been helped.

www.thechildhealthsite.com

7.     The Literacy Site - Click here to donate books to children!  After you click it will show you how many books have been donated that day.

www.theliteracysite.com

8.     The Rainforest Site - When you click on this site's give button, you save the rainforest, an amount measured in square feet.  Every little bit helps.  100% of the sponsor's money goes to the rainforest.

www.therainforestsite.com

9.     Free Rice - Play a vocabulary game, answer a math question or even prep for your SAT test using this site and every correct answer donates 10 grains of rice for a hungry person through the United Nations World Food Program.  You'll need to play quite a while to give them a whole bowlful, but hey, it's fun and kind of addictive. 

www.freerice.com

Do good while you are shopping!  
http://www.igive.com/welcome/lp16/cr60.cfm