Samantha Lyons

Well, it’s November again! November feels warm and familiar to me, like a childhood friend. I love the connotations surrounding November- thanksgiving, crisp fall, apples and cinnamon, football on in the background, the whole house warmed from a day’s cooking. What’s not to love?

A couple months ago I started a gratefulness practice, and while gratefulness has more profoundness and depth for me than being thankful, this time of year always stirs up feelings of wanting to show up for the world.

I have a quote printed out in my bathroom that I read every day while brushing my teeth:

“You can’t do all the good the world needs, but the world needs all the good that you can do.”

So every morning, I read that, feel all warm and fuzzy inside, and then without fail, someone is rude on the phone, I get an annoying email, a glass shatters, a kid vomits, a bill comes in the mail, I have no cell phone service, you know- the annoying life stuff that spares no one.

What I am learning to practice, though, is working to counteract the grumpy occurrences with doing something kind and paying close attention to all the things that are going right. To all the things I can MAKE go right.

They say you need to be careful who you’re spending time with because you start to share mannerisms, sayings, thought processes, habits, and so on.

When my husband Jack and I met, he would ALWAYS stop and give money to homeless people. ALWAYS.

For years before I met him I would hear people around me say, “Don’t waste your money! Your funding their addiction. They’re just buying booze.”

One day in the car, I shyly said to Jack, “Don’t you worry he will buy alcohol or drugs?”

And he said, “What if he doesn’t? What if he actually needs help? I can only do the right thing, I can’t control what happens from there.”

That day, my mindset shifted.

He was right!

I had adopted an ideology based on the opinions of the people I was hearing. That ideology takes the position of refusing to help ANYONE at the risk that SOME people might abuse the help.

The thing is, there will always be people who cut in line, don’t tell you there is no toilet paper in the stall, or don’t say “thank you” when you hold the door.

But we can’t become so hardened that we stop holding the door all together.

Anyway, it’s safe to say, when we see a homeless person, we always try to help where we can.

But I think it’s important to note that giving back isn’t just about money. There are so many ways to create a butterfly effect of positivity and warmth.

It’s about reaching out to old teachers to let them know how much they impacted your life.

Letting someone at work know how much you appreciate them.

Reaching out to a long, lost friend.

Letting someone merge.

Being friendly to drive thru workers and customer service representatives.

Stopping to help a turtle cross the road.

Putting out bird seed (and letting the squirrels have some, too.)

Sending a nice text.

Sending $5 for a coffee to someone you know is struggling.

Supporting people in their small businesses.

Genuinely smiling at a stranger.

Donating items you don’t use.

There are so many ways to make the world a little bit better. The annoying emails aren’t going to stop, so how can we create so much good in our lives that they’re just a drop in an ocean? That they don’t have enough power to turn us dark.

You can give back to the world ANY time, but November happens to be a perfect time to start a habit.

What if everyone did one thing every day of November to fill someone up with thankfulness?

Imagine how you could make someone’s life better.

And I’ll be the one to admit it.

The selfish part.

Every time I do something kind, I think I feel even warmer and fuzzier than they do.

I don’t do it FOR myself, but I will embrace all the “chicken soup for the soul” that comes with just being kind.