Every Day Thankful. Becca Anderson

       February - Matters of the Heart

      Practice Random Acts of Kindness and Senseless Acts of Beauty

      Random Acts of Kindness Day is always the week of Valentine’s Day. I always love to hear how this meaningful movement has touched others’ lives. Have you 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 her face change, eyes open wide with delight, a smile bursting into a grin, and laughter erupting. The person appears to feel sheer joy at the unexpected. The old adage is true: “It is in giving that we receive.”

      1.

      For love casts out fear, and gratitude can conquer pride.

      —Louisa May Alcott

      2.

      Let us rise up and be thankful,

      for if we didn’t learn a lot today,

      at least we learned a little.

      —Buddha

      3.

      Thankfulness is the beginning of gratitude. Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness. Thankfulness may consist merely of words. Gratitude is shown in acts.

      —Henri Frederic Amiel

      4.

      You cannot do a kindness too soon because you never know how soon it will be too late.

       —Ralph Waldo Emerson

      5.

      Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.

      —Epicurus

      6.

      One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings.

      —Carl Jung

      7.

      Joy is the simplest form of gratitude.

      —Karl Barth

      8.

      No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of another.

      —Charles Dickens

      9.

      If the only prayer you say in your life is “Thank You,” that would suffice.

      —Meister Eckhart

      10.

      Silent gratitude isn’t much good to anyone.

      —Gertrude Stein

      11.

      Charity never humiliated him who profited from it, nor ever bound him by the chains of gratitude, since it was not to him but to God that the gift was made.

      —Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

      12.

      Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse.

      —Henry Van Dyke

      13.

      Some people grumble that roses have thorns; I am grateful that thorns have roses.

       —Jean Baptiste Alphonse Karr

      14.

      They do not love that do not show their love.

       —William Shakespeare

      Let Your Love Shine

      Following are some ideas for you to consider during this month that celebrate love. As you know, this isn’t all about romance, but everyone who touches your heart and is deserving of a shout out: relatives, coworkers, neighbors, good friends, your children, and even strangers offering random acts of kindness. As they say, love is what makes the world go ‘round.

      I Just Called To Say I Love You

      Call your parents (or whoever raised you) and thank them for everything they did for you!

      Service men and women are doing just that, SERVICE. And they should be thanked for it. Many of these noble souls are very far away and receive little mail to their camp or barrack. Take a few moments to acknowledge their contribution and offer a friendly hello from back home in the USA. You can learn all about Operation Write Home at www.operationwritehome.gov. I have heard of great pen pal relationships come out of this gesture of gratitude, too.

      Love Notes

      Leave encouraging, inspiring, or funny notes/quotes in a library book or other random places (without littering or defiling public property). A simple note stapled to a bulletin board, taped to a column, or written in chalk on the sidewalk may influence in wonderful ways—plus, you’ll be like a secret agent, bringing happiness to others. This website has fun examples that might give you an idea: www.artofgettingstarted.com

      Valentine’s Day

      It’s that sometimes-anticipated-by-couples-yet-often-dreaded-by-singles day of the year! In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, send an anonymous letter or bouquet of flowers to someone special to you—your mom, your recently divorced best friend. This deliberate act of kindness will last long after the 14th as the memory lingers on.

      Offer to watch a friend or neighbor’s children so they can run errands or spend time with their significant other. A really nice thing to do the night before Valentine’s Day, by the way.

      15.

      The world is more malleable than you think and it’s waiting for you to hammer it into shape.

      —Bono

      16.

      He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.

      —Epictetus

      17.

      Gratitude is the sign of noble souls.

      —Aesop

      18.

      Train yourself never to put off the word or action for the expression of gratitude.

       —Albert Schweitzer

      19.

      Gratitude changes the pangs of memory into a tranquil joy.

      —Dietrich Bonhoeffer

      20.

      If you have lived, take thankfully the past.

      —John Dryden

      21.

      Gratitude is the moral memory of mankind.

      —Georg Simmel

      22.

      To be happy at home is the ultimate result of all ambition.