Special thanks to Positivty Nation for granting permission to share A Year of Positive Action with you on this blog! Visit them at www.positivitynation.com

A Week of Positive Action: Give someone a hug!  

Don't underestimate the power of human touch. Whether it is your kids, your parents, a sibling, a friend, or just someone who really seems a little “blue” or is going through a tough time, this small gesture could really turn  someone’s day around...and it doesn't cost a thing!  Give it a try!

We need 4 hugs a day for survival.
We need 8 hugs a day for maintenance.
We need 12 hugs a day for growth.
~Virginia Satir

This past Memorial Day Weekend was the 1st Annual Kindness Weekend in the Mount Washington Valley where I live. The Teen Clinic Peer Educators were joined by Michael Chase, author of Am I Being Kind?, and they hit the streets to give out free hugs. At the end of a day of random acts of kindness, including free hugs, we all came back to share our stories in a Kindness Rally. Check out this story about the power of a hug.

A group of teens I am connected with shared the story of their Free Hug station set up on the corner of Main Street. The donned their iHug pins and held up their signs and offered free hugs to passersby. They met with some resistance at first. They reported back that only about 1/3 of the people they met accepted their free hug offer. One person yelled, "why the hell would I want a free hug!" They persisted. About 2 hours into the morning, three girls came running back to tell me this story.

They were walking down the street holding up their signs, Mikayla leading the way. From about 50 feet away, a woman saw the sign and headed toward her with outstretched arms. Mikayla put her arms out as they walked toward each other and met in a huge hug. The woman held on tight and Mikayla felt her crying. When they pulled away the woman shared that seeing that sign was not at all what she expected on Main Sreet that day ...but it was exactly what she needed. The day before she had lost her best friend to a terminal illness and she was feeling quite alone. She thanked the girls for their Free Hug brigade and then all four of them embraced in a group hug. Seritonin levels flying high and four lives touched forever.

Needless to say, as their energy rose, the free hug campaign got stronger. Their success rates rose and they became more confident that hugs could really make a difference to strangers. They focused their Kindness Campaign to not just strangers on the street. They targeted the "bank ladies" and a whole host of people that serve them during their day to day lives. They delivered hugs and smiles and thank yous to the banks, retail clerks, wait staff, and service workers all along Main Street. Then they got in their cars and headed to the Mall to deliver some more hugs and random acts of kindness.

I hear from a good source that a year long cross-country Kindness Tour is being planned. And it all started with a simple hug with a stranger. Stay tuned for the launch of www.kindnessmiles.com ... coming soon to a community near you!

Practice forgiveness – not only for the actions of others, but forgive yourself of your mistakes. Release the past and its hold over you.  

"To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you."
~Louis B. Smedes

"Not to forgive is to be imprisoned by the past, by old grievances that do not permit life to proceed with new business. Not to forgive is to yield oneself to another's control... to be locked into a sequence of act and response, of outrage and revenge, tit for tat, escalating always. The present is endlessly overwhelmed and devoured by the past. Forgiveness frees the forgiver. It extracts the forgiver from someone else's nightmare."  
~Lance Morrow

On a personal note, I need to dole out a dose of forgiveness today. I've been distraced by someone else's nightmare for way too long. I love what Lance Morrow said, "Forgiveness frees the forgiver. It extracts the forgiver from someone else's nightmare.":

Thank you Positivity Nation for this Week of Positive Action as well as your permission to share it! Visit them at www.positivitynation.com

Shop positively!

Support a business that supports others. 

Whether a portion of the proceeds are donated to a great cause or the product itself brings attention to an important issue, or highlights fair-trade practices, how and where you spend your money can make a difference. 

Take a  few minutes this week to look beyond the big box stores to find something that fills your need and supports others at the same time. 

Why not start today with a Positivity Bracelet?

Positivity Bracelets are a great way to remind you and those around you to stay on the positive side of life while supporting a great cause.  All proceeds go to support the White Mountain Community Health Center. For more about what we do, see http://www.whitemountainhealth.org

$6.00 each includes shipping!

Thanks to Positivity Nation for granting us permission to share A Year in Positive Action. Check them out at www.positivitynation.com or like them on Facebook to get a daily dose of Positivity!

Consider how you may be able to save a life.

Will you sign an organ donor card… donate blood… or join the bone marrow registry? Maybe you will volunteer for a crisis hotline, donate your time/talents to a battered women’s shelter, or support an anti-bullying campaign.

We are all, in some way, capable of saving a life…what action will you take?

A Year of Positive Action is shared with permission by Positivity Nation. Visit them at www.positivitynation.com or like them on Facebook to get daily quotes and insights on approaching your days with positivity.

I also want to let you know that plans for the Mount Washington Valley's Kindness Weekend are in high gear! Visit www.kindnessweekend.com for details. I hope you will consider joining us in our beautiful Valley to spread the kindness wave!

 Seek out and share good news. 

It’s true, we don’t need to look far to find negative news stories in the media.  I also believe it is true that there is a “good news” story in every community – even amidst natural disasters and difficult situations.  

So the challenge to you this week is to make a deliberate effort to find one of these stories --whether from your community or somewhere on the other side of the globe -- then share it!

Post it on your facebook page, share it with your co-workers, your teen, your family.  Ask them to do the same.  This is a powerful way to spread the epidemic of positivity! 

Grateful to Positivity Nation for giving us permission to share. Visit them at www.positivitynation.com

Also, don't forget Kindness Weekend in the beautiful Mount Washington Valley, NH. Visit www.kindnessweekend.com for details. Even if you can't join us, be sure to check out the website for what you can do to spread kind in your own place in the world!

Share sincere appreciation with someone whose actions you might normally take for granted.
 
For example, the waitress who remembers your special order as soon as you walk in, the co-worker whose smile brightens your day, the family member who does the dishes without you asking, the person who shares a joke at just the right time, the cashier who always asks about your family, a friend who cares enough to share difficult feedback, the teacher who really cares, your health care provider who takes good care of you, a fellow student who helps you understand the homework, and so many more!

Little things really do matter...show people that you notice! 

Shared with permission by Positivity Nation. Check them out at www.positivitynation.com

Speaking of positivity, Positivity Bracelets are a great way to remind you and those around you to stay on the positive side of life while supporting a great cause.  

$6.00 includes shipping!

All proceeds go to the White Mountain Community Health Center provides adult, pediatric and teen healthcare and outreach services to uninsured and underinsured populations in the Mount Washington Valley, NH. Much of the work in the Vally is focused on the tourist industry and is therefore seasonal, part-time and without health benefits, which creates a difficult situation for families.

Create an action plan for how you are going to use the remainder of the year to make a positive difference at home,  at  your workplace, in your community, and in your circle of influence.

Be specific. Be deliberate. Be courageous! Write it down on paper so you can revisit your commitments and then journal your results. 

Engage others to join you in your efforts.  When we all start focusing on the contributions we can make close to home, the ripple effect of those actions will be what creates momentum ... spreading the epidemic of positivity far & wide!

Shared with permission by Positivity Nation. Visit them at www.positivitynation.com

Positivity bracelets are a great way to remind us to take positive action in our daily lives and help spread the word of positivity ... all while supporting a great cause!

Get your's today for $6.00 including shipping by clicking on Add to Cart below. All proceeds go to support the White Mountain Community Health Center. Visit them at www.whitemountainhealth.org

Lift up your voice!

Call, write, visit, e-mail, or text an elected official (or a decision maker) about an issue that you are passionate about. Be a catalyst for change.Your voice matters...exercise the "power of one".
 
“I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do.” 
~Edward Everett Hale

A Year of Positive Action is shared with permission by Positivity Nation. Vistit them at www.positivitynation.com
 
I'm taking action to support the elimination of Title V abstinence only until marriage funding and the shifting of these funds to help support effective, evidence-based comprehensive, abstinence-based sexuality education for teens. If you're interested, read more at http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/blogs-main/advocates-blog/1808-take-action