Help the youngest victims of today's earthquake in Japan
I’ve just completed by second 30-Day experiment – the Giving Project has come to an end, and I am ready to embark on my next experiment: 30 Days of Meditation. This experiment experiment will consist of a disciplined meditation, 15-20 minutes in length, EVERY single day. Before we get to that, though, I’ll recap briefly the last days of the Giving Project. Continue reading
One of the most valuable aspects of this “30 Days of Giving” experiment that I can share is this: Forcing myself to think of something to give, every day – even when it’s hard, some days more of an effort than others – forces me to think of something outside myself. Every single day. We all get wrapped up in our lives, and mostly I don’t think it’s because we’re selfish. We have jobs, families, responsibilities – we all have a lot going on. But the most impactful aspect of this project, to me, has been that focusing on something other than myself. Many days, when I have been stressed or maybe not had the best day, my giving seems to be the thing that centers me and makes my day good again. Looking outside ourselves and our own lives and problems is a very valuable lesson. Continue reading
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Although sometimes it’s a chore to have to think about what and where to give every single day, for the most part this experiment has demonstrated to me how easy it is to give, in small ways, in our everyday life. To grab a few extra cans of food when you’re grocery shopping to drop in the food pantry box; to add that extra dollar to the animal shelter at the pet store check-out. When we’re not “saving ourselves up” for the big gives or volunteer days, it’s not that difficult to find easy ways to give on a regular basis, that make a big difference when added up. I encourage you to look for the little things you can do, easily, while you go about your daily work and errands. You might be surprised – and I promise that giving will make your day. Continue reading
Reed Sandridge lost his job last year and took up a new hobby. He gives away $10 every day to someone who looks as if they could use it, a different person each day. And Sandridge expects nothing in return but a good feeling.
Now I can’t help but wonder, if he can do it, why can’t we? It doesn’t have to be $10, or even money, but I have read – and experienced – a lot of the phenomenon that people who have the least give the most – the New York Times calls it the “compassion deficit.” Continue reading
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I’m about halfway through my 30 Days of Giving project, and having done some sort of giving each day – from volunteer time to monetary and goods donations – I can tell you that it’s a lot easier to give your money than it is to give your time. This premise applies to many things, not just charitable giving; in fact, parenting comes to mind, when sometimes parents find it easier to just buy their kids lots of stuff than actually spend time with them, which is far more valuable.
But I digress. Some may take issue with the title of this post, because let’s face it: Nonprofit organizations depend on money. Big money endowments. And I am not in any way belittling the value of that. In fact, in my experience the people who have huge amounts of money to donate, are often very involved in the nonprofits they support, often serving as board members and in other capacities. Money is the lifeblood that keeps nonprofits going. But for individuals, from the giver’s perspective – writing a check is a lot easier than giving your time to a cause. When you give your time, to anything, it says “I value this; it is important enough to me to give of myself.” Food for thought. Continue reading
Here it is. The last day of 2011. And with it I have come to the end of my “30 Days at a Time” challenge. During this year, I have taken on different projects to incorporate into my life for 30 days. Most people agree that it takes somewhere between 21 and 30 days to ingrain a new habit into your life, and I wanted to integrate several things into my life as well as give myself some challenges. Here I share what I’ve learned.
WordPress sent me an end-of-the-year recap of how 30 Days at a Time did, and I thought it was interesting enough to share. What were some of my top posts, in terms of readers and comments? First of all, the blog was viewed about 25,000 times in 2011. Wow, thanks readers!
The past week’s 30 Ways in 30 Days actions have centered around the holidays and what we can do at this time of year, through small actions, to make the world a better place. I’m not going to list all the week’s actions – you can find them at Take Part’s website – but here are a few of my favorites.
Last week’s 30 Ways in 30 Days actions were all about the kids. Actions included buying pencils for school children, downloading an app to make sure your purchases aren’t made with child labor, and taking the hunger quiz to feed a child.
I’ve kept up with my 30 Ways in 30 Days project, in spite of being out of the country on a press trip. Here are the actions that I’ve taken in the last few days, which include donating toys for children, saving the trees and turtles, and also thinking about what “help” means.
30 Days at a Time 