January. 2020

A Smile a Day...
My family and I were on a post Christmas flight to Florida and the holiday stress was still tangible in the air. My husband and I decided to anonymously gift a small monetary amount so that after people ordered food or a beverage they were told someone on the flight prepaid their meal for them. When we made this offer we were greeted by the flight attendants with extreme gratitude. The flight attendant informed me that in the 35 years she has been working for the airlines she has never experienced anyone doing anything like this. It felt so good to do something that would hopefully help the stress of travel for a handful of strangers on our flight. At the same time I was overcome with sadness that in 35 years this flight attendant had never seen an act of kindness like this. 
My grandmother has a Hanukah tradition that she has shared with me and I want to share with all of you who celebrate any joyous holiday occasion. If you can, hold onto the hand of or embrace someone you love while doing this so that you have the feeling of love and comfort and stability in mind. Think about one thing that you wish for yourself and one thing that you wish for the world. This simple act might just be the key to seeing things as they are, as they could be and as we wish them to be rather than focusing on what isn’t possible, what hasn’t happened or what we feel is out of our control. 

My wish for myself is to keep doing what I am doing every day and to love it deeply and with every piece of me. My wish for the world is that people think of others, reflect on others and hold space for adding magic, kindness and generosity to the world whenever they can, want to or are able. Joy is contagious but so is fear and anger and sadness so we truly can change the world with something as simple as a smile. In giving we hold the power to spread cheer. Giving can be monetary, emotional, physical or mental. It can be as big as a house or as small as a smile. It is not the thing itself but the act that carries weight. Remember that when you feel hopeless or helpless or lost, you can look in the mirror and remember to smile, see yourself as you wish to be in the moment rather than you are. Some people might say this is a fake it until you make it mentality but I see this as a self help tool, as a way to remind ourselves of who we can be when the weight of the world is too much to carry. Take this message as you will and may you have the happiest of New Years, here is to 2020!