helping
How to help others (and yourself)
It can be very annoying when people talk about doing something good for others, because sometimes we know that it`s good, but just not WHAT to do. So, what about making a list over small things one can do for others ? Feel free to supplement this list. More parts are coming later
1. This girl donates her hair for people with cancer.
In the next few weeks, I will cut off 8-12 inches of my hair and donate it to Pantene Beautiful Lengths. This is an amazing cause where women grow strong, together. Check back for pictures by summer’s end. I originally donated my hair to honor CMD who was diagnosed with spinal cancer when I was in high school. This will be my third time donating to Pantene Beautiful Lengths and it is my way of changing someone’s life, for the better. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how much hair I have or how I look without it. What matters is that someone is benefiting from the wig that my hair contributed to and feeling beautiful again (http://jhemway.wordpress.com/2013/07/01/10-change-someones-life-for-the-better/).@
Stories about people saved by organ donation:
- A little six-year-old boy regained his eyesight and an ex-fireman has a younger and healthy heart.
- I have corresponded by mail and e-mail with the 37-year-old man who has one of James’ kidneys. I hope someday we can meet each other, but right now we live too far away to do that.
- Last year at the annual Giving and Living Celebration at the Southwest Transplant Alliance, we met a woman who was 47 and near death when she received James’ liver and other kidney. She told me when she was in her coma for over two months, she felt like she was on a ship in the middle of an ocean alone. She could hear people talking but they were far away. How can I adequately describe the feeling when we met? She was like meeting a long lost relative that I had never met before. It was wonderful and overwhelming. She is a precious lady who has had to battle with a tremendous amount of physical problems and has a young child at home.
Small Changes Which Can Make a Big Difference
Photo by Shermeee
Set Your Alarm Half an Hour Earlier
There’s never enough time in the day – especially when you want to start something new. Maybe you’d love to write a novel, take up exercise, or have time to pray or meditate.
simply setting your alarm half an hour earlier? An extra 30 minutes in the morning, before you go out to work, could make all the difference. Write a plan about how you can do something good for someone that day. If 30 minutes is to rough, get up 15 min. before
One of the simplest tricks for drinking more water is to keep a bottle of it on your desk. It’s easy to take a swig regularly if you’ve got water in arm’s reach – and if you keep the cap on the bottle, there’s no chance of a spillage.
Hide the Television Remote (and Keep a Book by the Couch)
Photo by Helga Weber
There’s nothing wrong with watching television. But for many of us, the TV becomes a default activity. It’s all too easy to come home, slump on the couch, and reach straight for the remote without even thinking. Increasing knowledge really can help you become more aware and conscious, which in return will make you more able to think for yourself
If that’s a habit you’re trying to break, put the remote somewhere else. Hide it in a cupboard or on a high shelf. That way, you’ll have to make a real decision to watch television.
You can go even further with this by putting a book that you want to read, or something else you want to get on with, next to the couch.
1. Say “Good morning” to a person standing next to you in the elevator.
2. Put a coin in an expired meter.
3. Help a mother carry her baby stroller up the subway stairs, or hold a door open for her. Read more: http://www.oprah.com/spirit/35-Little-Acts-of-Kindness#ixzz2XoULqvjz
4. Pay the toll for the driver behind you.
5. Vote. While the Presidential election comes around only once every four years, elections happen every year. Check out the candidates for local and state elections.
6. Encourage your employer to sponsor local events, join a civic organization or allow employees to volunteer during work hours. Many businesses have volunteer programs to reward employees for volunteering. Local news
Switch Your Light Bulbs for Energy-Saving Ones
Suffering eco-guilt? A lot of us want to do our bit for the planet – but we don’t know where to start. One of the simplest steps is to switch all your standard light bulbs for energy-saving ones. It’s not only much better for the environment, it’ll also save you money on your electric bill.
Be a good example!
(http://www.thechangeblog.com/gratitude) Last year millions of people took the challenge proposed by Will Bowen, a Kansas City minister, to go 21 days without complaining, criticizing, or gossiping. To help condition the participants to stop complaining, they each wore a purple No-Complaint wristband. Several authors in the self-improvement genre have suggested that people do something similar to help condition themselves to be constantly aware of the things in life that they’re grateful for.
My daily chinese lesson
I’m trying to learn one Chinese word/sentence every day, and had to share today’s challenge:
The greatest human relations principle is to treat other people like you want to be treated待人如待己(dài rén rú dài jǐ)
Friendship requires many qualities— generosity, genuine care to the others, and the ability to listen when the other person needs to talk, to name a few. When you show respect for your friends and gratitude for their friendship, you’ll be treated as a friend. When someone isn’t treating you fair, instead of holding grudge, have compassion for he who treats you unjust as this person maybe going through tough times in his life. A kind word or a gentle, understanding smile may help the person feel better and change his attitude.
The sound of humanity
I’m here, at my hotel room in one of the richest countries in the world, were we try to care about as many people as possible, even the ones who do wrong. Many were stunned by the dignified reactions after 22th of July, where one man killed hundreds of innocent teens for twisted ideological reasons. Most people in our country, got together in every city to pay their respect for the relatives who lost children, and for the political system we live in. We wanted to show that we didn’t react the same way as he did, blaming others that eventually just feeds hate and war.
In norway it’s the norm that you give money to charity, and right now there’s a record in memberships in volunteer organizations. We want to help, and often we do.
But still, there is so much poverty, suffering and unfairness in this word, and sometimes I feel the weight of it on my shoulder. I feel a bit bad for staying in a hotel with a warm bed and safe room, when many in Russia right now are freezing to death. I can go out and buy all the food I need, when so many people right now desperately try to find something to eat, so that their children can live yet another day.
Right now I’m reading nothing to envy by Barbara Demick, that describes the unbelievable, a harsh reality that can be hard to digest. Sweeping misery under the rug, helps us feeling well and comfortable. Many react on unfairness with negative feelings. It feels terrible that there’s so much that should be done, while we go about our life thinking mostly about ourselves or others close to us. It’s scary to think about how much we don’t do, it opens a whole drawer full of other revelations: We’re ignoring suffering around us, feeling there is nothing we can do, feeling helpless and that hope is nowhere near. Some protect themselves by blaming others: political systems, lazy people or bad leaders. Some try to block it out, like looking down when we pass hungry people on the street, and some try to actually do something, so that the feeling (I’m a good person) actually fits with our behavior (doing good). What alternative do you choose? Maybe you don’t have a choice: ‘charity begins with a full stomach’ (from nothing to envy, p. 167)
Source: ministryoffairies.tumblr.com via Kate on Pinterest
Helping doesn’t mean that we can’t do things for ourselves also. Actually it’s the other way around, people taking care of their needs, have more energy available for the next of kin, they love to make somebody smile: by donating clothes twice a year, by touching somebody’s shoulder when they look unhappy, or helping a old lady who lose her bag. It’s finding the person who lost their cat, it’s stopping when somebody need a lift, it’s looking people in the eye and offering assistance when you feel somebody need it. With people caring, with media caring it forces political systems to also take caring seriously, those political parties give a good impression, and we want that more today than earlier when we had enough with our own problems.
There is so much we can do, every day, to inspire others, and I promise: Nothing will make you feel better. Be how you think you are, as often as possible.
Mirrorgirl 
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