Sometimes a Little is a Lot

If you are sick and tired of your surroundings, make a little change (or changes) to help you freshen a room that has grown stale to you.
One of the easiest things to do is to change your room by putting it on the diagonal. If your room has a square floor plan with an area rug, then turn the area rug a few degrees on the diagonal; then place your furniture, couch, chairs, tables relative to the rug so that it looks as though you rotated just the floor of the room. Voila! A different look - and when you sit, you will find yourself looking at different wall art, windows from a different perspective, etc. so that will be a change also.
Using the diagonal works for your bedroom, too although I don't recommend it with a king-sized bed unless you have an extremely large bedroom.

(First photo is a room done by designer Lynda Lankford)
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Choose Peace

We all make choices everyday; some of the most dangerous choices we make are when we do not choose consciously. So I will ask you one question:
Do you cause dissension in the world?
Are you the kind of person who leaves a room with everyone in it feeling worse than when you came in? When someone makes a comment, do you have to contradict? Even when it's about something silly? (i.e. "It's supposed to rain today." you: "I didn't hear that. I heard it was supposed to be nice today.")
Do you have to "one-up"? ("I'm so happy; I finally won fifty dollars after buying a lottery ticket every day this week." you: " Oh, last year I won a thousand dollars on one lottery ticket!"
Do you walk in a room and announce that you are in a bad mood?
Does your tone of voice, even about ordinary subjects, have a tone of challenge in it?
If any of these scenarios fit you, you are not making the world a happier place; you are likely causing dissension.
Note: I am not talking about the times you have to argue a point, stand up for yourself, or defend someone who needs your help. I am talking about those times when what is under discussion is usually inconsequential.
Make a choice today NOT to cause dissension wherever you go.



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Do Something Beautiful

How do you do something beautiful? Many ways, but I was thinking in terms of either sharing beauty in a personal way or improving the way something looks.
First, pointing out beauty is one thing everyone needs to do. Beauty uplifts us; it actually can cause a chemical change that makes us feel better. If you have young children, you need to be making them aware of beauty. Say to them: "Look how beautiful those fluffy clouds look! So soft and so white!" This makes them look at the world differently - makes them aware of the possiblities in things - that those things are not just there. They can give us pleasure and add meaning and interest to our lives.
Adding beauty by adding a vase of flowers to the kitchen table is a nice touch, and at this season you may be able to pick some free. Make sure to let your children smell them, and call attention to the flowers. Make them aware of beauty.
Note that beauty is not just something to look at and touch or hear; it has meaning, too. When my son went to graduate school in Denver, we arrived there at dusk - all of us for the first time. I went upstairs to our hotel room and opened the curtains to a lovely view of the Rocky Mountains in the last light. I turned off the lights in the room except for the one in the doorway so that when my son came in, I turned and said, "Look." His response was wonderful - a look that combined his appreciation for nature's beauty, an awareness that he had embarked on a new and exciting part of his life, and gratitude that I knew him well enough to do this so that he would always remember his first glimpse of the Rockies.
He has not forgotten, and obviously, neither have I. Make the day better by pointing out beauty to someone.
Make the rest of their lives better by teaching your children to recognize beauty in their everyday surroundings.
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Say Something Nice

When was the last time you said something really nice to someone? And I mean really nice, not a left-handed compliment or the very obvious.
Over 25 years ago, when I arrived at her home, a friend said to me out of the blue, "You know, you are always very punctual."
No one had ever said that before. I remembered it, and took pride in my punctuality, and do to this day. But it was her compliment that spurred me to take pride in something that I hadn't particularly thought about.
Tell a person who is that she is good about remembering birthdays, being thoughtful to others. If there is a person who always asks if you want coffee before she gets some for herself, then tell her, "It's so nice of you to ask me if I want coffee; that's really good of you."
Compliments don't just please people, they spur us usually to repeat whatever the good action was.
Tell someone today that he/she did something good.
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