Intentional Acts of Kindness

As we wrap up 21 Days of Gratitude, I am truly grateful!  Grateful for the journey and thankful for those who joined me.  I will continue gratitude as a daily practice as it has changed my life in a powerful way.  It is true, the Tetris Effect has taken over, and I am constantly noticing what is good and beautiful in my world.  Studies show that practicing gratitude daily makes us happier and I have found this to be true in my life.

Next we will practice 21 Days of Intentional Acts of Kindness.  Like gratitude, practicing intentional acts of kindness (daily) has the power to increase our baseline for happiness.  In other words, when we extend kindness toward others as a daily practice, WE actually become happier.  Not to mention what it does for the people we are extending kindness to.  And it doesn't stop there.  So please join me as we change our little corner of the world one intentional act of kindness at a time, from one human being to another.

Intentional acts of kindness can be built into our routines for ease and habit formation.  That is how I suggest you begin.  So designate a time every day when you will dedicate 5 minutes to performing 1-5 intentional acts of kindness.  This can be sending an email (or 5) letting someone know you appreciate them.  It can be bringing in the morning paper.  It can be popping in on a coworker for an authentic, face-to face, "Good morning, how are you doing?" check in.  Whatever it is, keep it simple, and build it into your day.  Do it very day for the next 21 days.  And let it be something that you can continue after the 21 days.  You can also sprinkle intentional acts of kindness throughout your day doing things such as paying for a cup of coffee for the next guy in line, letting the person behind you at the grocery store go first, making a meal for your family, letting someone merge in traffic, smiling at a stranger, picking up trash on the street, putting your cart back at the grocery store, letting the frantic person at the airport go through security in front of you, cleaning up someone else's mess...the list goes on.  Have fun with it and see how many different ways you can practice intentional acts of kindness, besides during your routine practice time.

For other terrific ideas on intentional acts of kindness I recommend reading http://metropolitanmama.net/2009/06/17-intentional-acts-of-kindness/.
I look forward to our journey!

An Herbivore Among Meat Eaters

I recently celebrated a birthday and my gift to myself was a vegetarian diet.  (Shh!!!)  Vegetarianism is a concept I have been admiring and courting for a long time, and I am very excited to venture into this new, healthier way of nourishing my body!  So far so good, except that I am now a plant eater among meat eaters.  So I am giving it a shot for one year and then I will reassess, based on how I feel.  I have been told that I will feel much better, have more energy, and I am aware of the health benefits which is the engine which is powering this locomotive of change.

Vegetarianism is an unspeakable phenomenon to the rest of my family.  If my husband had his way a meal would consist of brisket and a hamburger (hold the veggies) with a side of ribs and ham with bacon crumbles for dessert.  Vegetables for him are beans, pasta and potatoes.  To complicate matters further, I have four boys and when I serve a meatless meal I get questions and worried looks from at least two of them.  My husband just scavenges the refrigerator for animal products to add to the meal.  He could make a burrito out of baked ziti using slices of roast beef.  But my son eyes a casserole with fearful curiosity.  If there's no meat, it is ruined for him.  He'll ask, "Does that have meat in it!?!" with an energetic combination of discontent and doubt, foreshadowing a potential emotional meltdown.  Then he will proceed to eat the meal in a very dejected manner.

So as a vegetarian among a meat-eating family, I am left with only one realistic choice: serve meat!  But to satisfy my new dietary desires, I am adding a lot more veggie dishes to the tableside spread, along with the meat, which I now quietly avoid.  Hopefully this will result in my boys eating more vegetables, too.  I have not yet told them that I am opting out of their carnivorous ways.  That information in itself would have them categorize me into another clan, an outsider of sorts.  So for now I will just continue with business as usual at mealtime and discreetly opt out of partaking of the meat offering at the dinner table.  Oh, and I am going to continue eating seafood, so I will cook it more often.  Maybe that will confuse everyone and secure my cover...