Posted in Personal Development, Random Acts of Kindness, Stress Management, tagged butter bee happy, grateful journal. happiness journal, gratitude journal, Happy Tapper, Oprah Winfrey on June 7, 2011 | 4 Comments »
Funny. Over the past few weeks, I’ve not only happened upon several blog postings, but have also had a couple of conversations about gratitude journals. Perhaps it’s no coincidence; spring is, after all, a time of hope and renewal.
A Gratitude Journal (also called a Grateful Journal, and a Happiness Journal) came into popularity back in the mid-90s through Oprah Winfrey. The concept is simple: (more…)
Posted in Children, Disabilities, Literacy, Micro-volunteering, Random Acts of Kindness, tagged donating glasses, New Eyes for the Needy, sight disabilities, vision disabilities on May 24, 2011 |
I was doomed from the get-go. With both a mom and dad with poor eyesight, my destiny was pretty clear. And, if I were to believe mom, the many nights spent way past my bedtime, under the covers reading with a flashlight, didn’t help.
This is what the world looks like when I wake up:
Thankfully, my parents or I’ve always had the resources so I could have glasses or contacts, so the world can look like this:
Posted in Random Acts of Kindness, volunteering, tagged AWA Vienna, impact on March 4, 2011 | 6 Comments »
Corinne presents "Impact Your Life"
This week’s Impact Effort was about inspiring others to action; I had two opportunities to present motivational speeches.
For the first one, I had been invited to speak to an organization for which I have great respect, the American Women’s Association, on a subject that sits close to my heart … you guessed it, 52 Weeks of Impact.
My main theme was clear. I wanted to show that 52 Weeks of Impact has had an enormous Impact back on us. But, my challenge was that this project has impacted us in so many ways, and I had only about one hour. How could I best use the time to inspire and ignite desire to make a positive Impact?
In the end, I focused on some of the lessons learned.
The most important fact to remember is that throughout 2010, Nils and I lived with two key questions constantly in the back of our minds, “What Impact can we have this week?” and “What Impact will this have?”
What we discovered is (more…)
Posted in Personal Development, Random Acts of Kindness, tagged gratitude on January 1, 2011 | 4 Comments »
“Week 52″ — Words I sometimes wondered if I’d ever type.
Truth be told, there were times when I questioned if we’d make it. The first came when I was overloaded with work and falling behind on blogging. I remember asking Nils (not so jokingly), “Would anyone notice if we changed to ‘26 Weeks of Impact’?” The other memorable time came when someone referred to us as “slacktivists.” Reacting like the child that I’m often capable of being, I wanted to throw in the towel. Thank goodness I didn’t. (more…)
Posted in Animal Conservation & Welfare, Eco-Friendly, Environment, Homeless, Hunger, Micro-volunteering, Random Acts of Kindness, volunteering, tagged bee hive adoption, colony collapse disorder, helpfromhome, Meals for others, Publix, recycling, Slacktivist, Slacktivist Impact Challenge, Slacktivity on October 27, 2010 | 2 Comments »
After due consideration, and review of all the votes for our four finalists, we’re happy to announce the final results of the Slacktivist Impact Challenge.
So, the results show that winner is …
…
…
… the winner is …
…
…
… the winner is …
…
Aw heck, we just couldn’t do it!
MEALS FOR OTHERS and RECYCLING WALKS and BEE A SLACKTIVIST and MICRO EFFORTS, MACRO IMPACT
are ALL WINNERS!
We couldn’t bring ourselves to make one a winner over the others. All finalists, of course, received votes, and Nils and I decided (and, in situations like this, we can do whatever we want, can’t we? :-p) that all four finalists are winners. Each Slacktivist Finalist is a winner, and $25 U.S. (or equivalent in other currency) will to go to each of their charity of choice.
Congratulations to all four finalists. And, thank you to everyone who voted.
Winning Slacktivists: Please contact us with the name of your charity and information so that we can send the donation. We’d also appreciate if you’d send a brief synopsis of your charity so we can add it in a posting at a later date.
If you missed our finalists’ Slacktivist Slacktivities, click here.
A Sampling of Comments
Posted in Personal Development, Random Acts of Kindness on September 14, 2010 | 4 Comments »
Uh oh, got me-self into a pickle.
The last blog posting I wrote was titled, “Sharing your talents, it’s that simple.” The “simple” part referred to the belief that using our talents (as opposed to abilities that don’t come naturally) makes for effortless Impact. I did not anticipate the response.
I thank those who wrote to let me know that recognizing and admitting to talents that create Impact is NOT so simple. I double thank those who have been willing to dialog on the subject. I’ve certainly learned a lot.
One result of this unexpected response: my personal Impact this week was different than planned. Following the theme of Ovarian Cancer Awareness, I was going to use my writing ability to develop another article for publication on the early symptoms of O.C.
Instead, I spent time online with some friends and followers posing questions to help find their answers, reveal their talents and elicit new ideas. I believe that this is one of my talents. To put a name to the Impact I had this week is a little more difficult, but I hope I made some positive difference. Each of us has our own special talents, even if we don’t allow ourselves to see them.
Nils’ talents and resulting Impact are much easier to identify. One of Nils’ most conspicuous talents is his problem-solving (mostly analytical) abilities. He often sees clearly through fog of fear, stress, or chaos. His clear-headedness can then create greater calm for others.
This past week, was extremely stressful for Nils at work, but that didn’t stop him from making Impact. In two separate incidents, he helped others circumnavigate uncomfortable situations. In one, he counseled a colleague’s “car repair shop panicked” girlfriend (Impacting not only the girlfriend, but also helping his colleague bypass potential “traumatized girlfriend syndrome”); in the other, he advised an angst-filled co-worker (also in a pickle) in how to best communicate with his boss, avoiding a sticky situation.
Additionally, Nils coached a nervous colleague for his upcoming annual review, and provided a friend with a new business idea. He also mentioned having fixed someone’s umbrella on a very rainy day — I suppose we could consider that he put his mechanical-engineering talents to work, but I think that’s a bit of a stretch.
None of the above efforts we could have anticipated. Then again, that goes along with what I often say about chances to make a positive Impact always presenting themselves — somehow, somewhere.
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Posted in Animal Conservation & Welfare, carbon footprint, click-to-donate, Clothing, Homeless, Human Rights, Random Acts of Kindness, volunteering on August 30, 2010 | 4 Comments »
Dark clouds, spitting rain and an uncomfortable chill were our companions for morning coffee on Saturday. It was pretty dispiriting. Did we really have to go outside and get things done?
By the time we finished our morning ablutions and discussions on the day’s plan, the clouds had cleared a bit — in the sky, in our heads and in our moods — and we gathered up our materials and mettle and mobilized for a day of personal errands and Impact efforts.
Sidewalk "Open Bookshelf"
First stop was Open Bookshelf, a freestanding “shelf” that’s bolted to the sidewalk a few blocks from our apartment. It’s a free “serve yourself” exchange where anyone can bring or take a book or books. For months, Nils and I have talked about participating. This weekend, we went with a dozen or so mostly English books, and just before we headed out, Nils added a German language book of Hagar the Horrible comic strips.
As we were finishing shelving our books, a woman approached with her granddaughter of about four years old.
“She’s fascinated by books,” the woman explained as the little girl looked on with wide-eyed curiosity.
“Ooh, I have just the thing,” Nils said. He reached back into the shelf with his own child-like enthusiasm.
“She doesn’t read yet …” the woman said doubtingly.
Nils pulled out his Hagar the Horrible like a magician would a rabbit, and squatted down next to the little one. “Look here, you can look at the pictures and have someone read the words with you.” She followed along mesmerized.
Nils offered this prize over to her and she accepted it with a shy smile of gratitude. We watched as she toddled off happily with grandma to the bus stop.
Impact, Yes. Satisfaction, big time! That little girl’s smile yielded at least 100+ satisfaction points! Perhaps some of our other books will find equally worthy new homes.
A darn good start to the day!
Back in January, we featured die Gruft, Vienna’s well-known homeless facility. Since then, we’ve gone back a couple of times, but it’s been several months. A quick morning dig through the closet produced a few tops, a sweater and a pair of (too small) nearly-new trousers. They were added to a bag of hotel shampoos and shower gels we’ve been collecting, along with overnight toiletry kits from Nils’ business class flights.
Though still overcast, temperatures were warming, so there were fewer homeless in the shelter this time compared to our first visit in the dead of winter. Nevertheless, our small bag of donations were gladly accepted.
To friends in Vienna: die Gruft’s currently in need of a variety of items including men’s clothing, office, kitchen and first-aid supplies, and eating utensils.
100 Cities Around the World Against Stoning is an initiative that arrived in my inbox early Friday morning, further proof that Impact opportunities present themselves when you keep your eyes open.
The terrifying threat of death by stoning of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani is known worldwide. Saturday, August 28th was the day where people around the world gathered to demand the abolition of this inhuman and barbaric act.
In Vienna, there was no demonstration per se, but there was an information table in front of the Opera House. Nils and I, along with many others, signed a petition in protest against stoning and signed and mailed a postcard imploring the United Nations General Secretary, Ban-Ki Moon, to not accept Ahmadinejad at the General Assembly session in September 2010. (Click here for a letter version in pdf)
Overall, not a bad day at all, especially since we also got grocery shopping done, checked out a couple of kitchen supply shops for needed equipment, and had a nice lunch and conversation along the way.
After having walked (an effort not to add to our carbon footprint) approximately 5 miles/8 km through the city on Saturday, Sunday was a “spud day.” We did, however, manage to do a few Impact efforts from the comfort of our sofa. These included click-to-donatesthroughs which we highlighted back in Week 7: Effortless Impact. While we do click-to donatethrough donations occasionally, frankly, it’s no longer a habit. We’ve pledged to each other to make a more concerted effort to click through more regularly.
Pups like this could be killed in their dens
We also answered to a call by the Defenders of Wildlife and sent a letter to the U.S. federal Wildlife Services agency in a campaign to Save America’s Wolves. I was shocked to learn that this branch of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture plans to initiate shooting of entire packs from the air, surgical sterilization of alpha pairs and gassing of pups. URGENT: Deadline for sending letters is August 31st, 2010.
And, last but not least, in the spirit of Week 22: Pollinating Happiness, we both signed into butterbeehappy.com and updated our Happiness Journals. Amongst other things, we’re pretty dang happy about our Spontaneous Impact Weekend.
Posted in Monthly Impact Challenges (MIC), Personal Development, Random Acts of Kindness on July 5, 2010 |
If you heard a dull, hollow “thonking” noise yesterday, I confess that was me. Between the hours of about 2 – 4 p.m., I was whacking my forehead with the the heel of my hand repeatedly and firmly, crying, “stupid, stupid, stupid!” What foolishness made me believe that Nils and could easily sort through friend and follower Happy Thoughts and present a short list for voting? If we had really been “fair”, our short list would number in the hundreds. Each Thought was a gem, ranging from touching to moving, odd to ROFL funny, and many made us pause, think and appreciate.
In the end, we managed to cull to 21 items. I can’t say Nils and I were in total agreement, and we’ve no doubt removed what would have been others’ favorites. But for the sake of our marriage 
, we present the list below. We love each and every thought!
Please help us decide the top Happy Thoughts winners and VOTE for your top three (3) favorites (give the corresponding letter/number combination). Deadline for voting is: Thursday, 8 July 2010 5:00 PM EST. Submit your favorites as a comment below. And, please enjoy reading!
| 1a | Fresh ginger sizzling in a wok. | 1b | Laughter, so much laughter. | 1c | Not hearing vuvuzela’s! | ||
| 2a | The shredder! Loves to eat old to do lists, feels so satisfying!! | 2b | The unexpected scent of honeysuckle in the air. | 2c | Looking for exquisite new stationery to write letters. Inspirational. | ||
| 3a | My parents’ anniversary, 62 years and still doing the tango. This thought is worth all 5 of today’s happy slots. | 3b | I am truly grateful that I can really talk to my hubby about anything. He is really my best friend. Ever. | 3c | The amazing outpouring of help, hope, love, links and all good things from my online friends, and their friends, and even total strangers …” | ||
| 4a | I’ve documented 150 happy thoughts this month (and had many more) | 4b | Glad I don’t live in a time when I have to dress for dinner. | 4c | Shared hilarious politically incorrect moment with daughter (oh, oops). | ||
| 5a | The most perfect dawn: unencumbered clear skies. | 5b | The sound of ginger ale being poured over ice on a hot day. | 5c | Standing on the beach with my feet sinking into the sand. | ||
| 6a | I am so grateful and happy it rained – after we got home. | 6b | Had a long cuddle with my kitty because she was in the mood. | 6c | A walk along deserted beach with dogs and husband. | ||
| 7a | Chocolate chip cookies fresh from the oven. | 7b | Being married to a kind, gentle man. | 7c | Sunbeams on a plain white wall. |
Posted in Monthly Impact Challenges (MIC), Personal Development, Random Acts of Kindness, tagged gratitude journal, happiness, happiness challenge on July 3, 2010 |
The entire month of June was marked by serendipity. Opportunities to connect with friends, family and strangers just seemed to fall into our laps. While sadly, not all needs for connection were happy ones, the combined efforts made for a most fulfilling month.
June’s Monthly Impact Challenge was a Happiness Challenge and all about appreciating and acknowledging the “little things in life” and the big and little people who can make such a difference.
Nils and I are in the process of culling through all the Happiness Challenge submissions and will post our short-list of favorites for voting. We hope to have the list up some time next week.
In the meantime, we’d like to share a lovely little video that illustrates what an incredible impact we can have on those around us. I read somewhere that researchers have found that emotions of anger, fear, anxiety, happiness and depression can spread like viruses and can influence at “three degrees of influence”.* In other words, my mood can influence not only my friend, but my friend’s friend. If I’m going to have that much Impact, I’d prefer I spread around joy!
* Note: haven’t yet been able to find corroboration on this, but it’s a nice concept.
Posted in Children, Friends, Random Acts of Kindness, tagged condolences, friendship, stronger friendships, writing condolences on June 25, 2010 | 4 Comments »
A week or so ago, nestled in my mailbox among magazines, bank statements, and bills lay a personal letter. Surprising, in this era of online communication. Aside from a few die-hard friends who still send snail mail Christmas cards and a couple who send birthday wishes, everyone corresponds by email. It’s June, so no Christmas or February birthday wishes.
The letter was from a previous boss and friend of almost 15 years. Since the end of our working relationship, an unlikely friendship somehow has developed between me, him, and his wife. Back when he was my boss, he was already retirement age and his wife somewhere close behind. Despite the difference in years, our professional origins, and scanty contact (because of my erratic correspondence), they are dear to me for many reasons. Not least among these is that they are just “good people” and a wonderful couple that shares a love and respect to be emulated. (more…)
