Do your little bit of good where you are; its those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world. ~ Desmond Tutu
Today’s Reflection ~ Compassion
I’ll lift you and you lift me, and we’ll both ascend together. John Greenleaf Whitter
Longevity Tip
When she died at age 116 in 2015 Gertrude Weaver of Camden, Arkansas was the world’s oldest woman. When asked, she attributed her longevity to kindness: “Treat people right and be nice to other people the way you want them to be nice to you.” Her advice to those aspiring to a long life was a bit more specific: “Use a lot of skin moisturizer, treat everyone nice, love your neighbor and eat your own cooking. Don’t eat at fast food places.”
Source
Wellness Tip
Taking a 12-minute walk in a public space and thinking to yourself “I wish for this person to be happy” every time you see a passerby may be a surprisingly easy way to make yourself feel better, according to a new study by researchers from Iowa State University. ~ Christopher Bergland
Source
Wellness Tip: Be Kind
Cultivate kindness. People who volunteer or simply care for others on a consistent basis seem to be happier and less depressed. Although “caring” can involve volunteering as part of an organized group or club, it can be as simple as reaching out to a colleague or classmate who looks lonely or is struggling with an issue.
Source: The Pursuit of Happiness
Today’s Reflection ~ Smile
A warm smile is the universal language of kindness. ~ William Arthur Ward
Today’s Reflections ~ Kindness & Sorrow
Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside, you must know sorrow as the other deepest thing. Naomi Shihab Nye
Today’s Reflection ~ Happiness
“Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.” – James Matthew Barrie
You Can Never Tell ~ Ella Wheeler Wilcox
You never can tell when you send a word,
Like an arrow shot from a bow
By an archer blind, be it cruel or kind,
Just where it may chance to go!
It may pierce the breast of your dearest friend,
Tipped with its poison or balm;
To a stranger’s heart in life’s great mart,
It may carry its pain or its calm.
You never can tell when you do an act
Just what the result will be;
But with every deed you are sowing a seed,
Though the harvest you may not see.
Each kindly act is an acorn dropped
In God’s productive soil.
You may not know, but the tree shall grow,
With shelter for those who toil.
You never can tell what your thoughts will do,
In bringing you hate or love;
For thoughts are things, and their airy wings
Are swifter than carrier doves.
They follow the law of the universe—
Each thing must create its kind;
And they speed o’er the track to bring you back
Whatever went out from your mind.
Excerpt From
Poems of Power
Ella Wheeler Wilcox