Written by guest blogger, Gowtham Natarajan

As you stroll down the busy hallway at school during lunch with a group of friends, you look over and see a kid eating lunch by himself. But what do you do next?  

Do you keep walking thinking he chose to sit there? 

Go over to him and ask if he has anyone to spend his thirty-minute lunch break with? 

Offer to have him eat with you and your friends? 

This is probably a situation that many of us have encountered at one point or another. The question is, however, what did you do about it?

…By all the means you can,

In all the ways you can,

In all the places you can,

To all the people you can,

As long as you ever can.

~John Wesley

As a New Year approaches, many of us contemplate setting resolutions. For some, these objectives revolve around health and wellbeing, spending more time with family, or striving to excel in our career. These resolutions are great ways to help us reach an individual goal and are to be applauded. 

But may we offer another, additional resolution to consider. 

“Do all the good you can.”

To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist. That is all. ~Oscar Wilde

Life is a gift. When we wake up every day to that realization and do the things that really matter, we move from a place of mere existence to one of living.

So what DOES matter? Below is a simple formula for living your best life.

Take care of yourself, body, mind, and spirit.

Learn from the past. Plan for the future. Live in the present.

Be kind, even to those who are unkind.

Take responsibility for your actions.

Realize mistakes are learning opportunities not something to beat yourself up over.

Listen more. Talk less.

Do something nice and try not to get caught.

Strive for excellence, not perfection.

Be humble.

Be gracious.

Praise rather than criticize.

Laugh. Love. Hug.

Connect with others.

Surround yourself with people who inspire and support you. Do the same for them.

Be on time.

Live beneath your means.

Spend time in nature.

Take time to be alone. Reflect.

Be courteous and polite.

Say thank you. A lot.

Be tolerant and understanding, even if you don’t agree.

Give of your time and talents.

Communicate clearly.

Don’t take things personally.

Instead of assuming, ask for clarification.

Take risks. Overcome fears.

Believe in yourself.

Be grateful.

Don’t sweat the small stuff. It’s all small stuff.

May your day be filled with gratitude and good things.

Love is our true foundation, inborn in all of us.

Last week, our blog talked about The Four Agreements and how they can help us let go of fear and embrace an authentic life. With Valentine’s Day only a few days away, of course, this week’s topic is love.

But rather than focusing on romantic love, we are instead discussing about how to live life from a place of love. Just as when we transform our internal beliefs, when we live life based on love, this also empowers us to live authentically.

Living a life founded on love embodies three parts: Feeling love, being love and spreading love.

Feeling Love

Each of us is born from love. It is our foundation and the essence of who we are. Over time, we lose site of that and instead form a base of fear, which shrouds and overpowers the underpinnings of love. To overcome this, we first need to learn to truly love ourselves. We are all worthy, deserving and valuable no matter our faults and foibles. Loving ourselves fills us with compassion, abundance, appreciation, happiness, understanding, acceptance, forgiveness and kindness. When we love ourselves unconditionally, only then can we begin to be love and spread love.  Read more →

You make the world a better place by making yourself a better person. ~Scott Scorrell

During our lifetime, each of us makes an impact on the world around us. One of the most significant impressions we can make is by doing what we can as individuals to make the world a better place.

Here are 7 ways we can have a positive influence.

1. DO NO HARM

If everyone endevored to achieve this goal, our world would be transformed. We should all do everything we can to live by this motto. Help others. Be patient. Smile more. Say thank you. Be courteous. Make eye contact. Spread kindness, love and goodwill everyday.

2. ENJOY YOUR TIME

Instead of focusing on the negative, look at what is wonderful and amazing. Sure, it’s easy to get caught up in what isn’t going our way, to complain, argue and get upset. Yet by looking for the good and being grateful for it, we can shift our outlook and enjoy what good the world has to offer. Read more →

It’s a safe assumption to say that all of us want to be happy. But did you know that in addition to feeling lighthearted and content, happiness also boosts our personal productivity?

Science has proven that happy people accomplish more.

And, there are simple, scientifically proven things we can do daily to increase our happiness quotient.

1. Smile more

A genuine smile make us feel good. Smiling enhances our mood, increasing our attention and focus while reducing stress, especially during challenging times. A true smile involves our entire face, reaching and including our eyes.

Science shows smiling is beneficial:

“A new study led by a Michigan State University business scholar suggests customer-service workers who fake smile throughout the day worsen their mood and withdraw from work, affecting productivity. But workers who smile as a result of cultivating positive thoughts–such as a tropical vacation or a child’s recital–improve their mood and withdraw less.”

2. Exercise for 7 minutes

Exercise has an overwhelming impact on our happiness and well-being. Even a small, daily dose can dramatically enhance happiness. We can all find time to squeeze in 7 minutes to take a brisk walk, bust out some jumping jacks or dance to our favorite song.

Exercise can help you relax, increase your brainpower, and even improve your body image, even if you don’t lose any weight. A study in the Journal of Health Psychology found that people who exercised felt better about their bodies even when they saw no physical changes. Read more →

No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion. People learn to hate, and if they learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite. ~Nelson Mandela

Wouldn’t the world be a better place if we all accepted ourselves and others exactly as we are?

Wouldn’t the world be a better place if we lived from a place of love and acceptance, grateful for the wondrous diversity the world has to offer?

It’s okay that we are all different, that we have unique opinions and distinct beliefs.

Consider how bland life would be if everything was the same. If there was only one kind of tree, one type of flower, one landscape, one food, one aroma, one song, one book. Read more →

Just for now, without asking how, let yourself sink into stillness.

Just for now, lay down the

weight you so patiently

bear upon your shoulders.

Feel the earth receive

you, and the infinite

expanse of sky grow even

wider as your awareness

reaches up to meet it. Read more →

Know that your kindness has a ripple effect in the universe.

Just like gratitude, kindness is powerful. It can have an enormous impact on the world. Opportunities to be kind are all around us, each and every day. When we spread the seeds of kindness, we help others and also fill our own souls and hearts.

Kindness is a virtue and is a much-sought after value in many cultures. No act of kindness is every wasted. It is even possible to be kind to those for which we have no fondness. The smallest act of kindness is worth more that the greatest intention and is appreciated a thousandfold. Read more →

This simple, sweet poem offers sound advice on living a life of authenticity, appreciation, acceptance and understanding. When we strive to be kind, patient, gentle and gracious, we open our hearts to everything and everyone around us. It nurtures respect of ourselves as well as that of others. By following these guidelines, we will make a positive impact on the world around us.

Mend a quarrel.

Seek out a forgotten friend.

Dismiss suspicion and replace it with trust.

Write a letter.

Give a soft answer.

Encourage youth.

Manifest your loyalty in a word and deed.

Keep a promise.

Forgo a grudge. Read more →