Every Day Thankful. Becca Anderson

K. Chesterton

      How Thank You Notes Can Change the World

      Write a note of gratitude, a “mindful memo,” to the people in your everyday life who make a difference—the mailman, a grocery clerk, or the greeter at the mall. Tell your friends about their places of business or their great service so their businesses can grow. Just by paying attention to those people in your everyday life, who can so easily go unnoticed (especially if your smartphone is glued to your hand), you can enrich each other’s lives a little each day.

      24.

      When eating bamboo sprouts, remember the man who planted them.

      —Chinese Proverb

      25.

      The mere habit of learning to love is the thing.

      —Jane Austen

      26.

      For one man who thanks God that he is not as other men there are a thousand to offer thanks that they are as other men, sufficiently as others are to escape attention.

      —John Dewey

      27.

      Gratitude is one of the least articulate of the emotions, especially when it is deep.

       —Felix Frankfurter

      28.

      Leap Day! Make sure to spend that extra day doing something you love and make it productive. What did you need to get done yesterday that didn’t? Here is one great way to spend that day: cruise over to www.myphilanthropedia.org to find your perfect match of an organization to donate to or volunteer with. I learned about this from a TED Talk and discovered this vital service: Philanthropedia rate verified, financially responsible charities according to how much great work they’re doing. Donate to top nonprofits in a cause you care about.

      Don’t Be Judgmental; Be Kind Just Because You Can

      It’s easy to judge others for their actions and take for granted those we love or meet in chance encounters. We sometimes get so caught up in our busy-ness that we forget others are busy, too; they have rough days just like us, and they benefit from our kindnesses just as we do theirs. Go out of your way to smile at strangers, say good morning, say thank you, give a compliment, and listen attentively to someone who needs your ear. Do it because you can, because it feels great, because it makes someone else feel good. Don’t worry about a subsequent thank you; let a thank you be a beautiful perk, rather than an expectation.