Remember Sept. 11th

Remember--what exactly does that mean?  I have been watching and reading different items this past week about 9/11.  It has broken my heart hearing all over again the memories of that day.  I am touched by stories of kindness of  people who reached out to help others who loss loved ones.  I am touched by stories of those who reached out to help survivors.  I am at a loss of words for the passengers and crew of flight 93 who sacrificed their lives to save others.

Here is a few of the note worthy stories I have found:

America's Camp--a camp started for the children who loss a parent on 9/11

Hope Rising--a statue dedicated to 9/11

Flight 93 National Memorial--a Monument being constructed to honor the passengers and crew of Flight 93

I watched the dedication of the Flight 93 Memorial.  I was touched by the speeches given.  I was touched by seeing the wall unveiled and seeing the names of each one of the passengers and crew.  I liked what President Bush said that it is important to remember and honor these people with these monuments, but, it is equally as important to remember them by the way we live our lives.  Maybe that is what remembering is really all about--showing our love for loss loved ones through memorials and monuments but also through our actions of loving and caring about others.  Every time we show kindness instead of anger, we defy what the terrorist wanted to split our nation apart in hate.

So, for today take some time to remember and honor all those who were loss on 9/11--fly a flag, attend a memorial, light a candle etc., then tomorrow and forever remember and honor them by the way you choose to treat others.

Week 14--Kindness Challenge--Sept. 5

Send a Greeting Card to someone "just because" to let them know you are thinking of them.

With modern technology, this is almost a lost tradition of sending a card through the mail.  People hardly send birthday cards or Christmas cards anymore.  This makes this challenge a unique one because it will be totally out of the blue and a nice surprise for someone.  You have to look for the "just because" cards but they are out there and it will be worth the time and effort you spend to find just the right card.

I absolutely love receiving "just because" cards because they truly show to me that someone cares because it is a lot harder and more work to send a card rather just email or text someone. 

Week 13--Kindness Challenge--Aug. 29th

Find the gift of laughter today--a good clean story,  joke, movie, email thought, etc., have a good laugh and then pass it on to someone else.

If only we knew how much the power of laughter truly does heal us in so many ways.  One of the things I liked about Disney/Pixars movie, Monsters, Inc., was how they showed that when they focused on making people laugh instead of making them cry and sad and afraid that the power boost they got blew their numbers off the chart.  Maybe there is something we can take from this movie to apply to our own lives.  Are we focused on making others sad and miserable by how we talk to them or do we lift them up and make them feel true joy?

If you want a recommendation for a great book that will make you laugh and help you feel good inside I  would recommend "The Ultimate Gift" by Jim Stovall.

Week 12--Kindness Challenge--Aug. 22

Help somone in your family with one of their chores this week.

I love it when one of my kids secretly does one of my chores, especially cleaning the toilet--I hate doing that chore!  This is a way to promote kindness in your family because hopefully it will have a snowball effect where one person will do someones chore and then everyone else will be focused on doing other peoples chores--okay so maybe I'm living in a dream world, but you never know!  :)

Week 11--Kindness Challenge--Aug. 15th

Give someone flowers this week.

I had a neighbor who brought over flowers one day to me for no reason at all, just to say I'm thinking of you.  Little did she know that I was having a really hard day that day and those flowers really meant a lot to me.

Week 10--Kindness Challenge--Aug. 8th

Refrain from speaking unkindly about anyone this week.

I think you will find this challenge to be a lot harder than it seems.  This isn't something that people think about when they think of kindness.  I love the quote from Marvin J. Ashton which says, "Perhaps the greatest charity comes when we are kind to each other, when we don't judge or categorize someone else, when we simply give each other the benefit of the doubt or remain quiet."

Week 9--Kindness Challenge Aug. 1

Post-it Note someone's room, door, desk, car, etc., with positive comments written on the notes.

If you have never done this before you will be surprised how much joy it will not only bring the person you do it for but also the joy it brings you!