Is there someone in your life who feels distant? A friendship that crosses your mind every once in a while? Reach out with a text, an email, or a call. Tell them what’s true for you, how you missed them, how you’re thinking of them, and that you wanted to reach out.
Better Together.
WERE YOU CHALLENGED?
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We try to do so much alone. Yet there is little that we, as humans, have accomplished without others. So this month, reach out with a phone call, meeting, coffee, or lunch. What you do this month will enrich your life and ripple though the lives of others. It all starts by reaching out.
When someone is talking to you, listen. Period. When you don’t listen, it makes the other person feel like you don’t care. If you’re not sure about your listening skills, ask friends and family if they feel like you listen actively when you have conversations with them.
The beautiful places and things in this world are maintained and cared for by so many people: librarians, museum guards, gardeners, janitors, mechanics. The next time you’re around someone who does this kind of work, ask them for information they’d like to share: a piece of history, a favorite fact, something most visitors don’t know. What do you learn? How does it change this place for you?
Out of the blue, send someone a favorite picture of the two of you—by mail, text, or email. Before you send the photo, look at it closely. Remember how the day felt and how it felt to be together. Then send along a little note sharing a memory you have of that time, and tell them why you’re so glad to have them in your life.
The next time you’re at the grocery store, the coffee shop, or a crowded intersection, and you have a little extra time, let someone else go first—especially if this person seems stressed or in a hurry. Your small generosity helps someone move through their day with a little more ease, and it’s something you’ll feel good about in the process.
Find a place where you can wave at people passing by–a park bench by a busy bike path, a grassy patch near a train track, a river bank where boaters pass. Seek out people who are riding
by, and smile and wave at them. Who notices you? Who waves back right away? Who’s shy at first but willing to connect?
Offer a friend a small gift, a good-luck token, or a beautiful object from a place that you love. Tell them that it’s your intention that this be in their life for as long as it needs to be, but that in the end, they should pass it along to someone else when the time is right, and that this next person should do the same.
This little gift may become a symbol of care for more people than you can imagine.
Make a point to find out and remember the favorite things of people you love…ice cream flavors, coffee drinks, colors, or authors. Think of this like a little mental file you get to keep, just in case you ever want to offer them a perfect surprise, an unexpected pick-me-up, or a treat that makes them say, “How did you know?”
Place a small gift in a space where people will find it—pennies at a fountain, balloons at a park, sidewalk chalk at a playground. Write a little note so people know your gift is there to be taken or used, and then leave it there knowing that you are about to make the day for someone—or several someones—whom you may never even meet.
Give a compliment to a total stranger–someone you don’t know, someone you may never see again. Wait until you feel truly compelled to say something–someone’s glasses are perfect, their haircut is incredible, or the kindness toward a stranger is inspiring. Offer them your compliment, genuinely and openly, without needing to say anything further. Let your simple kind words be enough.
The next time you’re together with family, coworkers, or a group of friends, spend a few minutes going around and exchanging compliments. Shine a light on one person at a time, offering a single word that best describes them or a memory that matters to you, and continue until everyone has had a chance to be on the receiving end of all these good feelings.
Instead of going to the store or the supply closet, seize the next chance you have to ask a friend, neighbor, or coworker if you can borrow something you need: a stapler, a hammer, a quarter, a cup of sugar.
Allow yourself to rely on someone else’s generosity for a moment knowing you would do the same for them.
How does it feel to use this item they’ve lent you?
