Pay-It-Forward

How about posting this on your Facebook wall? 

"To start this year off in a loving way I’m participating in a Pay-It-Forward initiative. The first five people who comment on this status with “I’m in” will receive a surprise from me at some point in the calendar year - anything from a book, a card, a visit, something homemade or crafted, to really any kind of surprise! There will be no warning and it will happen when the mood comes over me and I find something I believe will suit you and make you happy….
These five people should make the same offer on their FB status to Pay-It-Forward. Simply copy this text onto your status (don’t share) so we can form a web of connections and kindness.
This is to inspire you to achieve something great this year through the little things.
With love and a smile,
[Insert name here]"

RAK - Random Acts of Kindness

This week is devoted to Random Acts of Kindness.

Martin Luther King Junior once said "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that"

It is so easy to get down with the state of the world but being witness to just one random act of kindness can lift you up and inspire you to do the same.

Some of these people's acts have been truly inspirational and have prompted an endless ripple of paying kindness forward...

20 ideas for Random Acts of Kindness

1. Send a Facebook message to three people to pay them a compliment.
2. Bring homemade biscuits or a healthy treat to work.
3. When everyone around you is gossiping about someone, be the one to stick up for them.
4. Put your phone away for the evening and focus on those around you.
5. Try not to talk over people. It may have been difficult for them to speak up in the first place. This may give them the idea that you don't think that what they have to say is important.
6. Email or write to a teacher who made a difference in your life.
7. Compliment someone to their boss.
8. Write something nice on that person’s updates who posts on Facebook constantly. They might be lonely.
9. Put sticky notes with positive quotes on the mirrors in public bathrooms.
10. Try to make sure every person in a group conversation feels included.
11. Stop to talk to a homeless person, buy them a warm drink.
12. Give someone a tissue who’s crying in public, and make sure they are okay.
13. Adopt a pet from a local animal shelter or charity.
14. Help your elderly neighbours by putting their bins out or if it is icy or cold outside, ask them if they need anything from the shop.
15. Make plans with that friend that you haven't seen in a while.
16. Buy a lottery ticket for a stranger.
17. Anonymously give a gift card/voucher to someone you know who is struggling to get by but is too proud to ask.
18. Give a compliment about your waiter or waitress to their manager.
19. On Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, think about any friends who have lost a parent the previous year, and send them a message to let them know you are thinking of them.
20. Smile at a stranger just because.

You will probably never know what impact your act of kindness has on the recipient but the smallest of kind acts can have massively important consequences. The following is probably my favourite example of a RAK where the reaction to the act was truly appreciated and the ripple created is truly inspirational, emotional and important. 

#RAK 

#RandomActsofKindness

How would you react to being called beautiful?

An unexpected compliment can go a long way in today's quick paced, corporate society. We often lose sight of what is going on around us and it can just take one person to change that.

One person to make a change to the world recently was Shea Glover, a student from Chicago. Shea decided to conduct a social experiment by taking photos of her peers and teachers to analyse their reactions when she tells them that she is taking pictures of things she finds beautiful. Her results were staggering:


The smiles of the confident and the broken alike are so unbelievably touching, it shows us how the smallest of interactions can affect those around us.
Next time you're speaking with a friend, a colleague, a client or your family, take a moment to think about how what you say truly affects them. 
Then think how much a true compliment or even a simple smile could make their day.

How would you react to being called beautiful?

Wednesday 17th February 2016 

Random Acts of Kindness Day

"Be the change that you wish to see in the world" - Mahatma Ghandi

Happy Mothering Sunday

Happy Mothering Sunday to all of the mothers and grandmothers out there...

I gave my favourite hand-made bag to my lovely mother today, filled with goodies for her, including a magnetic photo frame with a picture of me and her. (Frame from home bargains/quality save, sorry mum!) A perfect, little & thoughtful present that you could try out for next Mother's Day or for birthdays, Christmas etc

 

I hope you have all had a wonderful day relaxing while your offspring run around after you or vice versa! This evening, give a thought to all of our mothers, especially including all the single parents out there, making sacrifices to make you the person you are today. 

Comment if you have the utmost respect for all the single parents out there (single mothers in particular because of the day!)

Think about her now with these memorable quotes:

"Motherhood: All love begins and ends there."


"The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother."


"The love of a mother is the veil of a softer light between the heart and the heavenly Father."

"A mother's happiness is like a beacon, lighting up the future but reflected also on the past in the guise of fond memories."

Footprints

Do you ever feel like every day is a continuous struggle, thinking that no-one is there for you and that you are all alone? STOP. Read this prayer and know that you are not alone and that you are loved unconditionally...

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed
he was walking along the beach with the LORD.

Across the sky flashed scenes from his life.
For each scene he noticed two sets of
footprints in the sand: one belonging
to him, and the other to the LORD.

When the last scene of his life flashed before him,
he looked back at the footprints in the sand.

He noticed that many times along the path of
his life there was only one set of footprints.

He also noticed that it happened at the very
lowest and saddest times in his life.

This really bothered him and he
questioned the LORD about it:

"LORD, you said that once I decided to follow
you, you'd walk with me all the way.
But I have noticed that during the most
troublesome times in my life,
there is only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why when
I needed you most you would leave me."

The LORD replied:

"My son, my precious child,
I love you and I would never leave you.
During your times of trial and suffering,
when you see only one set of footprints,
it was then that I carried you."

God bless and remember:

"Music is love in search of a word"

Dear reader,

I am in love with music. I am not afraid to admit it. Have you ever noticed just how much music can affect your day to day life? For example, imagine you are sat with your friends: joking, laughing, relaxing and sharing your favourite 80’s dance music. All of a sudden the music shuffles and “Adagio for Strings in G minor” by Albinoni fills the air. There is no mistaking it, it is a moving and beautiful piece of music one which will remain in my heart forever, but all of a sudden the mood changes. Everyone becomes reflective and pensive. A wave of depression and sadness washes over the room and the happy, lively feeling felt just moments ago has changed the whole feeling of the evening. In the same way, imagine a friend has just been left by her long term partner; the song “All by myself” would not really improve the situation…

Taking into account the sheer power that music can have on us all, if we play the right songs at the right point, it can change lives. Music can move you, can change you, can seep into your very soul and rock you to sleep at night. Its effects are infinite.

Did you know that it has been proven that singing can improve your life expectancy, strengthening your lungs and heart through cardio vascular exercise and can improve your psychological state as singing releases endorphins in the brain, similar to eating chocolate, exercise and laughing. So next time you are feeling a bit down, why not try singing your little heart out and turn it into a strong, happy and healthy heart?

“Music speaks what cannot be expressed, soothes the mind and gives it rest, heals the heart and makes it whole, flows from heaven to the soul.”

And my all time favourite quote is from Sister Act 2:

“If you wake up in the morning and can think of nothing else but singing, then you’re meant to be a singer, girl.”

Finally, just a link to my youtube channel with me singing: Thelizziefrances

Signing off, Libby