DayMakers

Are you a DayMaker? What is a DayMaker? Well, according to David Wagner it is "a person who performs acts of kindness with the intention of making the world a better place." http://www.consciousone.com/wisdomflash/WFView.cfm?PID=173  Performing these acts of kindness will result in incredible soulful smiles for both the receiver & giver. The way I describe the smile is "when every cell of your body smiles" or when you can see one "smile with their eyes" as oppose to their mouth. If you have exeperienced this you will understand this perfectly. It is one of those smiles where you can't stop smiling & you think people must think you are weird. One where you can be talking to someone or doing somthing & your mind just drifts to the event again & you smile just as deeply again. People ask you why you are smiling & you might tell them but if you say "nothing" they don't believe you & you just laugh a bit. There is almost nothing,  short of a catastrophe, which could take that smile away. Oh but if only we could experience these more often & longer!
     

Now what can be used as a DayMaker? Almost anything! It can be big or something quite small. Even a simple "Hello" or smile itself can really make a 180 degree difference in someone's day! Certainly a hug or a kiss. No I'm not suggesting to grab someone on the street & kiss them...Ha!...but it is amazing how we slowly hug & kiss our loved ones less & less over time. I mean take the person you love the most, when is the last time you kissed them like you did when you were first going out? What are your hugs like? Remember how kids sometimes complain how much we hug or how long & hard? I had a grandpa who was extremely strong! The problem was he didn't know his own strength! He grew up on the farms & even did some prize fighting when he was young. He would hug you & you'd think he'd busted a rib! I always think of him when I watch "The Quiet Man" with John Wayne! Remember the bar scene where he shakes the brother of the womenhe loves (Maureen O'Hara! I'm reading her biography now). He has no blood left in that hand! Ha! I figure, if you are going to even bother to hug or kiss you might as well make it a good one right! :-) Unfortunately, many times it is the people we love who we treat the worst. You'll see people all chirpy and fun with strangers, open the doors for them and be polite but then two seconds later they are letting the door hit their family member! (Shake head!) It is hard for everyone, I mean they are the ones who cause us the most frustration too so...it is easy to be nice to people who we aren't frustrated with. The true test is to be nice to those who are not always nice to us right. What else could we do? Maybe take out the trash if we don't normally do it? Maybe send them a note in their lunch, treat them to a day by themselves or just walking on the outside of them to protect them from traffic. I'm sure you can be more creative than I am even. And we make a big deal on Mother's & Father's Day etc! Why more appreciation on one day? We should appreciate them 100% everyday! The lovely flowers on one's anniversary...well it is almost expected then..you would really be in the "dog-house" if you didn't that day...how about other days when they are not expected? I'm not saying you shouldn't treat your anniversary special but then it is over & you say "ok, now I have to wait another year to feel loved & appreciated?" Not good! I love when I see 80 year old men still calling their wife "my bride" or "my girlfriend" Hmmm how lovely! When was the last time you held hands walking with someone? Your partner or your children? Maybe shopping or walking into your relative's home for a party even? It is a two way street! I think what happens is it slowly creaps on one and you can't even remember who stopped first but the result is people just stop.
  
Now what about others? Well, Oprah always talks about "Random Acts of Kindness" like the paying for the toll behind you and that is good, I would not say that is bad but really how much is that? Well ok, our tolls have gone up recently but people would probably say sure I could do that..then that may be a sign that it isn't enough? I know we all wish people would even do just this, but could you offer to pay for the car behind you in the fast food line, especially not knowing yet how much it is??? Maybe it is mowing your neighbor's yard without asking, or raking their leaves. Maybe it is paying for a table of police officers dinners! They are never thanked enough! Maybe it is just opening your window when you are stopped across from one at the light & saying "thank you!" When was the last time you thanked your child's teacher for helping them learn? No, not just on Christmas or Teacher Day! That is what always gets me...Christmas everyone is nice, ok not everyone but more people, and the day after everyone is back to "normal". I remember one person saying "I can't wait for the holidays to be over!" UGH!!!! How about just buying a small rose plant & putting it on someone's desk before anyone gets to work. Maybe even someone who you don't know very well, someone who you think needs it the most. Just watch & see what happens.

Well I'm sure you have many more ideas than I have! What have you done in the past? What was the result? What new ideas do you have? Post them here for all of us to try out! If you try something, come back & let us know what happened! If you have had your Day Made by someone else tell us too!

Here's Wishing you a Body/Spirit Smile! :-)