I have several other trips this summer, some for work and some for fun.  Next week I am going on a 4 day cruise to the Bahamas with girlfriends, and July 7 – 10 I will be in Las Vegas for my friend and client’s World Martial Arts Event 2025.  There will be 800 people from all over the world competing for various awards.  He is the founder of Kenpo 5.0 and has over 70 schools worldwide. I have tickets to go to the Sphere while I am there as well.

In August I am visiting a high school friend in Geneva, Illinois, and then at the end of the month I will be in Washington, DC, for the Veteran Speaker’s Retreat. I am also thinking of renting a place in Portland for the month of September to be GONE for hurricane season.  I cannot take being out of my condo again for weeks at a time! 😉

Finally, I am excited about a volunteer position I am applying for one afternoon a week.  I visited the Marietta Museum of Art and Whimsy several weeks ago and was enthralled.  It is one of the happiest places I have ever been!  It is the brainchild of a woman who decided to give a gift to Sarasota and so has collected sculptures, art work, and displays like the bathosphere from “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.”  I have included several pictures from the Museum, and you can see more at https://whimsymuseum.org.

Be kind and merciful. Let no one ever come to you without coming away better and happier.

~ Mother Teresa 

I hope these ideas will help you create more joyful, kind, and caring workplaces and homes. Remember, one kind act results in four more, and Appreciation is a FREE gift. 

1.  Make a short visit or take a small plant to an elderly neighbor, retired employee, widow, or person in your company, church or community.
2. Watch for your mailman, custodian, or garbage collector and offer them a cold drink, coffee or hot chocolate.
3. Leave a thank you note or a small gift for your custodian or the housekeeping person when you stay at a hotel.
4. Graciously thank people who are cleaning the streets, the restrooms, and the offices in your workplace or community.
5. See if you can make eye contact and smile at everyone as you go down the hall or street.
6. Buy a co-worker or any person in uniform a cup of coffee as a “thank you,”
7. Offer to help young mothers with children by holding doors, carrying packages or groceries, or entertaining the children for a moment.
8. Quietly slip some money into the purse or pocket of a friend or co-worker who is struggling,
9. Ask to take a picture of the couple or the whole group when you see someone taking a photo of others.
10. Call a fellow employee or person whom you know has been sick just to see how they are.
11.  Give five hugs to people every day.
12.  Surprise your team members by greeting them at the door, shaking their hands, and thanking them for being a part of your team.
13.  Collect children’s books to deliver to homeless shelters or to shelters for battered women.
14.  Go to an inner-city park and give away hula hoops and jump ropes.
15.  Join people you see sitting alone in the company cafeteria.
16.  Ask a new person each week to take a walk with you on their lunch hour so you can get to know each other.
17.  Make birthday bags for a food pantry.
18.  Leave notes of encouragement at people’s work stations.
19.  Share vacation days with a very sick employee who has used up all their allotment.
20.  Use your talents to help others – handyman, artist, seamstress, lawyer, organizer.
21.  Babysit a single parent’s child so they can have an evening away.
22.  Keep a basket of fun things from the Dollar Store to share with colleagues who are having a hard day.
23.  Offer to help someone who is struggling with a project or deadline.
24.  Create a Friendship bag or Survival Kit of fun candy names for those who need cheering up.
25.  Fill toiletry bags for Homeless shelters.
26. Take back grocery carts in the parking lot.
27. As a team, wash the windows of neighboring businesses.
28. Take treats to volunteers in shelters, non-profits, and charities in. your community.
29. Make large signs with inspirational sayings and walk the streets in your workplace or community, waving to people and making their day.
30. Post an Appreciation board in your breakroom for employees to write on and erase it once a week and start over,
31. Pick up trash both inside and outside in your work and home areas.
32.  Hang a piece of poster board at every employee’s workstation and encourage others to write what they appreciate about that person.
33. Don’t’ forget to put five pennies in your pocket in the morning and move them to the other pocket when you appreciate someone or do something kind.
34.  Keep a “Blessings Journal” to remind yourself of all the kindness and appreciation you receive from others.

“BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE DON’T JUST HAPPEN!”

As a professional speaker, I love quotations, and certain ones have greatly influenced my life and my work.  This is one which has meant a great deal to me:

“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.”

~ Elizabeth Kubler Ross

As a young person, my whole life seemed to fit the plans that I had for myself and my future. Certainly. I had my share of disappointment and hurt; however, I was always able to get back on track and meet all the goals I had set for myself. Then, at age 29 my whole life fell apart in tragedies that were completely beyond my control!

Chronologically, in 18 months, my gentle mother-in-law suffered a horrible death from liver cancer; my father at age 62, without any warning, died of a heart attack in the middle of the night;  our infant son died after a completely normal pregnancy and birth and was buried on Christmas Eve; our St. Bernard puppy “Nanna” had a heart attack during a simple surgery at Easter that year, and I found a lump in my breast. With each consecutive tragedy, I realized more and more my complete helplessness.

During that devastating time, I came to two decisions that have impacted my life to the very depths of my being:

1. I was hurting so much that I knew no one could ever hurt me so deeply again in my life. I decided that I would never again try to be something or someone I was not just to please others. I vowed I would be completely authentic for the rest of my life, even if what I believed and felt was different from what others wanted to hear. To this very day I am the same person

on the platform as I am off the platform, and I have begged my friends and family to challenge me immediately if they ever see this changing.

2. In my grief, I powerfully experienced the belief that “Every day is a gift from God.” Up to that point, I had been able to plan my life, and if I worked hard, I was able to achieve all the lofty goals I had set for myself. However, I quickly learned that I am NOT in control and that I must be grateful for each day of life and live it to the fullest. 

During my darkest time, a friend gave me a book by Jess Lair titled “I Ain’t Much, Baby, But I’m All I’ve Got!” In the book he talks about living five minutes at a time. There were many, many days when the depression was so great that I couldn’t even face surviving until noon; however, with prayer, I could always get through five minutes. This experience taught me the gift of living fully in the present. When I am with you, I am completely and totally with you, and although I do some planning, I know deep in my heart that the only surety I have is this immediate moment and an unwavering reliance on a God who loves me.

Elizabeth Kubler Ross’s thought has deeply touched my heart, not only because of my life, but also as a reminder of the lives of others. Everyone has experienced pain and suffering in ways we cannot even imagine, and as we interact with other human beings, we must always keep

that thought in mind. Sometimes we are blessed to be able to hear their stories; however, other times we can only acknowledge how little we really know of the experiences of their lives and treat them with kindness and respect even if they don’t “deserve” it. I recently left this thought on my voice mail, “Be kind. Everyone you meet is carrying something.” Just think about it – there would probably be no one we did not like if we

just had time to learn their story.

If you are going through a difficult time in your life, or if you have a loved one who is suffering, hold onto the thought that no matter how awful the situation may be now, good can eventually come from it if we can open ourselves to God’s love and the love of those around us. We must

be gentle with ourselves–it took me almost 5 years to be nearly “whole” again–yet I could never be the person I am today nor do the work I am doing to change lives if it had not been for that pain and suffering. 

In the midst of your pain or the pain of others, always remember:  “BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE DO NOT JUST HAPPEN!” And when you are blessed to meet one of those “beautiful people,” never feel envious or inadequate. Remember they, too, have suffered and ask to hear their story. You will be more beautiful as a result.

© Barbara Glanz Communications of Florida. 2024. All Rights Reserved.

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