May Day!

"When you carry out acts of kindness you get a wonderful feeling inside. It is as though something inside your body responds and says, yes, this is how I ought to feel."

-Harold Kushner (b.1935); American rabbi

Can you believe tomorrow is already May 1st?  Time sure flies! Especially when you are having fun :)

This is my 16th Starfish Monday.  I am so glad I started doing this.  It has proved that it does make my Monday better because I have something fun to look forward to.  Just as the quote above says, something inside my body has said "yes, this is how I ought to feel."  It feels wonderful to make a small difference in someone else's life, no matter how big or small.




Today's Starfish

As I was growing up, my family and I always celebrated May Day by making May baskets and delivering them to neighbors and friends. The May Day celebration originated all the way back to before the birth of Christ. It was a big celebration in many cultures and usually consisted of maypoles, festivals and May baskets.

I have not celebrated May Day since I was a kid, so today I decided I would make May baskets for all my co-workers and take them to work tomorrow. 

I popped 8 bags of popcorn and mixed it with hot tamales, m&ms and peanuts.  I can't wait to take them to work tomorrow to share with everyone!

Who doesn't like a special, surprise treat?!

Be Kind to Our Home

Only when the last tree has died and the last river been poisoned and the last fish been caught will we realize we cannot eat money. 
~Cree Indian Proverb


Yesterday was Earth Day.  Just as we need to be kind to each other, we need to be kind to our earth.  We are never going to get anymore earth.  It cannot be manmade.  We can't "grow" earth in a factory or produce land with some machine.  It is what it is and it is all we have.  Earth is the one thing we all have in common.  We should take better care of it.

Today's Starfish

Since I did not participate in any Earth Day activities yesterday, I decided to use this as my Starfish for today.  I have been going on walks around my neighborhood every evening, and tonight I picked up trash as I walked.  It was amazing to see how many cigarette butts, papers and plastics I found around my small neighborhood. 

My challenge to you.... next time you want to throw that pop bottle out the window or flip your cigarette on the highway, don't.  Trash cans are easy to find.  Take care of our home...it will make life better for your children.  And if you see some trash on the ground, pick it up!

Take nothing but pictures.
Leave nothing but footprints.
Kill nothing but time.
~Motto of the Baltimore Grotto

Have a Heart♥

If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap.
If you want happiness for a day, go fishing.
If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune.
If you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody.
- Chinese proverb

Quick lookback at the story that this blog is named after.....
(If you want to read the whole story, it is posted on the very first blog that I wrote)


If the man in the story and any other people on the beach that day would have followed in the boy's footsteps and tossed a starfish back into the ocean --- what a difference all of those people would have made for so many different starfish!

Who is your starfish?

Today's Starfish

At work, a few people in my department have started a walking team for the American Heart Association Heart Walk.  Our goal is to walk 800 and some miles between now and June.  My friend who is our captain lost her father to heart disease and is raising money for heart disease awareness.

For my Starfish today, I donated $25 to this cause.  $25 provides 50 people with educational materials that teach them how to personally reduce their risk for heart disease. 

To learn more about the Heart Walk check out the website:
www.heart.org

Kindness Creates.....

"Kindness in words create confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness.  Kindness in giving creates love."

-Lao Tzu



Just as the quote above states, "kindness creates."  Kindness has the power to create lots of good things!  Good feelings, good thoughts, good days, good people.  Love.

Today's Starfish

This morning, on my way to work, I stopped at Starbucks for coffee.  Instead of ordering just one drink, I ordered two.  I took it to my friend's desk when I got to the office and left it with a note.  I knew she definitely knew it was from me when I got this email a few minutes after 8am:

THANK YOU.. THANK YOU.. THANK YOU…. This is the BEST MONDAY EVER!!

You're welcome, Kim!! :)

Add Kindness to your Routine

"Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind."Henry James

I am going to be honest - my creative juices are just not flowing tonight.  Here's why:  There is a basketball game on (C'mon Kansas!!), there is a puppy trying to type on my computer - apparently he has something he wants to say as well ;), I am not using the same computer I usually write my blog on so it feels weird, I just moved and cannot find ANYTHING I am looking for, and my daily routine has changed!

We all have our own daily routine.  Wake up, coffee, shower, newspaper, facebook, work, lunch, work, gym, dinner.  You know what I mean.  My daily routine has CHANGED!  Gasp!!  I just moved from an apartment in West Des Moines to a house in Urbandale.    I lived 5 minutes from work, 7 minutes from the gym and was in walking distance to the mall.  I now have to wake up earlier, do something else during my lunch (used to go home), and workout at a different time.  I know, I know, whoopdeedoo....It is not a huge deal but it has interrupted my routine!!

Everyone has circumstances come up where we have to change our routine. Give yourself a positive interruption - do or say something kind to someone.  Make it a part of your daily routine and see how you feel!


Today's Starfish

Because the staff at my old apartment complex was always so accomodating and nice to me, I decided to show my appreciation today by making some goodies and taking it to them during my lunch.  It felt wonderful to be able to tell them how much I enjoyed living in my apartment and that it is not very often that you come across such a nice staff that truly have their tenant's best interests in mind.