What I Learned About Positive Energy on My Daughter's Field Trip

COSI SCIENCE CENTER
COLUMBUS, OH

I recenlty went on an all day excursion with my teenage daughter (and about 50 other teenagers at her school).


I know, brave, or crazy...but I learned something...and not just that teenage girls talk 'a lot'!

During part of the trip we visited COSI in Columbus, OH. COSI is a really big, super cool, hands on science center. The place was great! We had a ton of fun and I recommend a visit (it's fun for grown ups too!)

During the last 20 minutes of our visit, we were hanging out in the lobby waiting for our group to line up for the bus. And during this time there was a show up on stage.

Do you remember as a kid, shuffling across the floor in your socks in the winter, then touching the first person you reached? What happened? You shocked them right!!??

I loved doing this. It was fun and always made me laugh.

As I sat back and watched the crowd of volunteers go up on stage I actually got a bit concerned...The kids all began to form the longest static-electricity chain I'd ever seen.

As the first person rubbed his hands all over the source of electricity, the long chain of kids circled around the lobby and braced for the shock.

As they did, the boys hair began to stand up on end. At this point. the instructor discussed how 'positive energy lifts up his hair, as well as the pom-pom he was holding. Negative energy, (like the type which was about to happen) would bring it down...'

Then....

HE REACHED OUT...AND TOUCHED THE FIRST PERSON IN THE LINE!

    P O W!!!!

A CHAIN REACTION OF POSITIVE ENERGY ZAPPED EVERYONE IN CIRCLE!!!

Do you realize that all of us have this ability every day?

No, not to shock those around us with little zaps of electrons...

BUT,

 INFUSE THEM 

WITH A HUGE DOSE OF 

POSITIVE INFLUENCE!

Understand Positive Energy in People's Actions

"Will Someone else's life be brighter tomorrow because of what you have done today?"

~ William Arthur Ward

Y.I. Wednesday: Why I'm Not a Jerk

This may seems like an odd Y.I. for Wednesday, but when I explain, I think you will understand. 

Read this:

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 (1843–1916)

Now ponder this:

Aren't there enough people in the world who spend most of their time purposely making others miserable?

How will it solve anything if I were to adopt the mentality, 'give an eye for an eye'?

How would I be able to lead a peaceful, happy life, if I were to spend my life being mean to anyone just because they make a mistake? 

Most people know me. They know I'm really nice. 

I'm generally known as patient and giving and offer people the benefit of the doubt.

But, those same people know that I have a line, and when it's crossed, I change, then simply cease the above.

Though, I will never be a jerk in the process.

Politeness, Professionalism and Maturity is always called for.

Being a jerk is not.

Think about a time when somebody cut you off or got irritated with you in the store - what did you do?

Did you get mad? Did you slam your hand down, or maybe yell at them?

Could you have just let it go? 

Or could you have dealt with it verbally, minus the drama?

We have a choice.

Being a jerk to someone whose not so nice to you won't ever make things better, and in the rare case that they may have just received some really bad news, and their mind just isn't with it at the moment, it's possible they don't realize they are doing it, and therefore do not deserve to be treated poorly, but instead need some compassion.

Some things to think about:

It's not always personal, so don't always take it as such.

How you act reflects upon you.

What you do will come back to you, so treat other's how you want to be treated.

And for those who deal with the aforementioned 'repeat-offending-purposeful-jerks'? 

Keep calm and carry on, because:

A) It still has nothing to do with you.

B) They're not worth the escalated blood pressure.

What do you NOT do and Why?

Random Acts of Kindness in Court

This week, as I sat in my local court room lobby waiting my turn to see the prosecutor for an unjustly served parking ticket, I wondered if the ticket I received would be dropped. And as I did, a stranger sat down next to me.

She began chatting almost immediately, and when somebody does that, it could be good or bad and frankly it makes me nervous. I'm social, but I just didn't feel like talking to anyone, and wasn't looking to make any new friends...I just wasn't in the mood.

But she kept talking, and I couldn't help but wonder what type of conversation it would turn out to be.  She seemed nice and after I got done listening to her'ticket-story, I realized my $76.00 (yes..seventy-six dollars) parking ticket was not nearly as bad as her $246.00 bond (and counting, plus other violations for no front plate).

I suppose that I could have easily considered that moment The Gift...and of course it was, to a point....

I'd already been sitting there for more than an hour, it was not even close to being my turn,  and if the ticket didn't get thrown out I'd be rubbing nickels together to pay for it! And now I was surely going to be very late for work. To top it off, I'd not gotten much sleep the evening before and  had a very bad night, plus a very long day ahead of me. I wasn't feeling so good, but i suppose I was a little relieved my ordeal was just a parking ticket, opposed to being arrested, like my new found acquaintance.

So, as she continued to discuss why she was sitting in court, she said something hysterical and it made me just start laughing out loud! I am hard pressed to find things that are so funny I burst out laughing like that in public...but she'd made it happen, and it was GREAT! I needed that:)

THAT was THE GIFT!

I didn't know her, and she could have kept to herself in her own misery (like I was)...but she didn't. She smiled, said hello, shared her funny and grueling story... and made me laugh.

A stranger gave me the brightest spot in my whole day.

And I am grateful.

You just never know when you, or someone sitting next to you, has something like that to share. I didn't even get her name...

Oh yeah! I almost forgot! I got another gift. But this one was from the magistrate...

'Parking Ticket Dismissed'

:) O' Happy Day!


She wished me luck...and I hope she was as happy and as lucky as I was when I left.

Valentine’s Day is not just for lovers…

History says Valentine’s Day is all about showing your loved one you care.

People who are dating exchange mushy cards, husbands take their wives out for dinner and guys buy their girls flowers and chocolates, etc., etc.

But what if you are not involved in an intimate relationship??

Then who do you share Valentine’s love with? Maybe your parents, your best friend or your children?

How about yourself?

It may sound weird. But I’m being serious.

It’s Valentine’s Day!  And who says we cannot share love with ourselves today!?

How many of us actually love ourselves? And how fair and kind are we to ourselves?

When we are nearly flawless in carry out something, we indisputably pat ourselves on the back. But think about how often we tend to put ourselves down when we don’t perform perfectly.

This morning I made banana bread. I’ve made this scratch recipe hundreds of times and never messed it up but today I allowed myself to get distracted and forgot to add not one ingredient, but two. Noticing AFTER each time I put the bread back into the pan and into the oven! Ugh.

We were soon headed to church and I had a limited amount of time to complete this correctly. I still needed to get into the shower and I knew the noses of my family had already smelled the wafting of bananas.

Everyone was waiting for this bread and I found that I was getting upset and disappointed with myself. I almost let it get to me.

I had to quickly get myself into check and remember, I am not perfect and no matter if the bread comes out bad or not, I did my best and it-is-what-it-is. My family will not hate me, they will not starve and I will not let my mistake to ruin my morning. 

I allowed myself patience, mercy and love and I felt so much better about things. In the end, the bread was amazing and we were at church on timeJ

Whether in a relationship this Valentine’s Day or not, remember 1 Corinthians 13:4, which says:

Love is patient and kind,

It is not jealous or envious,

Never boastful or proud.

Love is not ill mannered or selfish or easily angered.

Love does not keep a record of wrongs; it does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

Love never gives up. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes always perseveres, love never fails.

In romantic relationships, love is what sustains us during illnesses, job losses, and ill spoken words.

For the one who may be single, loving ourselves is what gives us faith, self-acceptance and inner strength to become a much stronger person.

 Happy Valentine’s Day!

                 Love yourself today!

Truly,

Amber

Do Good.

My Name is Earl, was a program I loved watching. I enjoyed seeing the way a guy could reform from being bad, to being good. It was a comedy show, but there was always a lesson at the end.

Tonight I decided to turn on late night TV to relax. To my surprise, my old friend Earl was on.  The show had just started and all through it I laughed as I always did.

At the end, when it was lesson-learning time, Alyssa Milano’s character turns to Earl with a really heartfelt and serious look and says, ‘Doing good feels good’. Earl replied, ‘Yes, yes it does’. Alyssa then said, ‘and doing bad feels bad’.  Again, Earl nodded and agreed with her, confirming her recent revelation.  Alyssa’s character seemed surprised at the ease and reward of ‘doing good’.

She closed the scene by saying, ‘If doing good feels so good, why don’t more people do it?’ Earl answered, ‘I don’t know.’

That’s a very good question, why don’t people do more good if it feels good?

I don’t know why ‘they’ (whoever ‘they’ are) don’t do more good, but I know why I do.

I like being nice, it makes me feel better about myself. I like holding doors, offering assistance and making someone laugh or smile.  And if someone doesn’t do it for me, I still do it for the next person.

Why not smile and express a cheerful greeting when you meet someone passing on the walk or at the store? Why not smile at someone driving by you.  I do it all the time. The worst they will do is give you a very strange look. But usually, what I witness is, they smile back! Yes, they smile back. And you know, they will probably smile at someone else after that, and maybe someone else after that! Smiling is contagious and feels good when you’re doing it.

There are many reasons to smile at someone. And one reason is clear, it’s polite. Another is maybe  not so clear;  unbeknownst to you,  that person may have private struggles that are so difficult, that your smile is the only light that shined on them that day.

Call me crazy, call me grossly hopeful, but I believe strongly that if we put good back into the world we can make a positive ripple effect and it will keep going and going and going.  Like the stadium wave. It doesn’t stop until  we stop doing it.

In my home I have many motivational quotes and notes. One is a tall poster of a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson. It is a quote surrounding SUCCESS. It basically says that Success is: leaving the world a better place whether it be by small efforts or large, and lists some of the ways. In another room I have a black and white print of a drop of water creating a ripple effect.

Try doing a few random acts of kindness this weekend and smile at as many people you can! It’s good for your health! It’s a proven fact that smiling is better for your health-check out this list of 12 Reasons to Smile bhttp://longevity.about.com/od/lifelongbeauty/tp/smiling.htm.

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."  -- Mahatma Gandhi