Smile ..

“Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love,
a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.”
~ Mother Teresa

Do you remember how you felt when you were suddenly greeted with a genuine smile? Or when you were standing awkwardly in a subway car full of strangers and someone suddenly smiled at you for no reason at all? It is really contagious and elevates your entire mood to a positive state.

Begin by smiling more often at family and friends. Smile as you make your way through a busy day. Try smiling at passing by strangers. Most importantly, smile genuinely :))

Overall spreading happiness by smiling is just an amazing experience ... and you never know who is falling in love with your smile :)) Of course, there's the added bonus that they might even smile back!

1000 Awesome Things!

So here's a blog that is really all about spreading happy thoughts.

How does it do that? By simply adding an 'awesome' thing to it's growing list of 1000 Awesome things

Read, enjoy and smile :))

And the feeling you get is just, pure Awesome !

Healthy Choices When Eating Out

These tips (found at WebMD.com) will help in making your eating out experiences healthy and enjoyable while keeping the levels of fat and cholesterol in your meals low.

Try doing this before you order your food:

• If you are familiar with the menu, decide what to order before entering the restaurant. This tactic will help you avoid any tempting foods that may not be so healthy.
• If you are trying a new restaurant, take time study the menu in order to avoid making unhealthy decisions.
• Have the server remove temptations (butter, for example) from the table.
• Drink two full glasses of water before your food arrives.
• Avoid foods described in the following way: buttery, buttered, fried, pan-fried, creamed, escalloped, au gratin (with cheese), or a la mode (with ice cream).
• If you want to eat bread, choose Melba toast or whole-grain rolls without butter or margarine.

Try doing this when you order your food:

• Order foods that are steamed, broiled, grilled, stir-fried, or roasted.
• Order potatoes baked, boiled, or roasted instead of fried. Ask the server to leave off the butter and sour cream.
• Order first so that you will not be influenced by other's choices.
• For appetizers, order broth-based soups such as minestrone or gazpacho.
• Choose seafood, chicken, or lean meat rather than fatty meats; remove all visible fat from any meat.
• Order broiled, baked, grilled, steamed or poached entrees
• Ask the server to substitute low-fat foods for high-fat foods. For example, ask for steamed vegetables instead of fries.
• Ask the chef to remove the skin from poultry and to prepare your food without butter or cream sauces. Or ask for the sauce on the side so you can control how much you eat.
• Ask the server about ingredients or preparation methods for the dishes you're not familiar with.
• Order vegetable side dishes without sauces or butter or ask them to put them on the side.
• For dessert, order sorbet or fresh, seasonal fruit without whipped cream or a topping.

Salad Tips

• When choosing from a salad bar, avoid items like grated cheese, prepared salads, cream dressings, chopped eggs, bacon bits and croutons.
• Use a squeeze of lemon instead of dressing on salads. Or try rice vinegar or balsamic vinegar.
• If you opt for dressing on your salad, order the dressing on the side. Dip your salad fork into the dressing, then into the salad. You will consume less dressing if you just get a taste of it on each mouthful of salad, rather than pouring it over the salad.

The Giving Pledge Club

In a letter where he pledges to give away almost all of his wealth to philanthropy, Warren Buffet explains the basis for his decision in one of his inspiring letters:

"In 2006, I made a commitment to gradually give all of my Berkshire Hathaway stock to philanthropic foundations. I couldn't be happier with that decision.

Now, Bill and Melinda Gates and I are asking hundreds of rich Americans to pledge at least 50% of their wealth to charity. So I think it is fitting that I reiterate my intentions and explain the thinking that lies behind them.

First, my pledge: More than 99% of my wealth will go to philanthropy during my lifetime or at death. Measured by dollars, this commitment is large. In a comparative sense, though, many individuals give more to others every day.

Millions of people who regularly contribute to churches, schools, and other organizations thereby relinquish the use of funds that would otherwise benefit their own families. The dollars these people drop into a collection plate or give to United Way mean forgone movies, dinners out, or other personal pleasures. In contrast, my family and I will give up nothing we need or want by fulfilling this 99% pledge.

Moreover, this pledge does not leave me contributing the most precious asset, which is time. Many people, including -- I'm proud to say -- my three children, give extensively of their own time and talents to help others. Gifts of this kind often prove far more valuable than money. A struggling child, befriended and nurtured by a caring mentor, receives a gift whose value far exceeds what can be bestowed by a check. My sister, Doris, extends significant person-to-person help daily. I've done little of this.

What I can do, however, is to take a pile of Berkshire Hathaway stock certificates -- "claim checks" that when converted to cash can command far-ranging resources -- and commit them to benefit others who, through the luck of the draw, have received the short straws in life. To date about 20% of my shares have been distributed (including shares given by my late wife, Susan Buffett). I will continue to annually distribute about 4% of the shares I retain. At the latest, the proceeds from all of my Berkshire shares will be expended for philanthropic purposes by 10 years after my estate is settled. Nothing will go to endowments; I want the money spent on current needs.

This pledge will leave my lifestyle untouched and that of my children as well. They have already received significant sums for their personal use and will receive more in the future. They live comfortable and productive lives. And I will continue to live in a manner that gives me everything that I could possibly want in life.

Some material things make my life more enjoyable; many, however, would not. I like having an expensive private plane, but owning a half-dozen homes would be a burden. Too often, a vast collection of possessions ends up possessing its owner. The asset I most value, aside from health, is interesting, diverse, and long-standing friends.

My wealth has come from a combination of living in America, some lucky genes, and compound interest. Both my children and I won what I call the ovarian lottery. (For starters, the odds against my 1930 birth taking place in the U.S. were at least 30 to 1. My being male and white also removed huge obstacles that a majority of Americans then faced.) My luck was accentuated by my living in a market system that sometimes produces distorted results, though overall it serves our country well. I've worked in an economy that rewards someone who saves the lives of others on a battlefield with a medal, rewards a great teacher with thank-you notes from parents, but rewards those who can detect the mispricing of securities with sums reaching into the billions. In short, fate's distribution of long straws is wildly capricious.

The reaction of my family and me to our extraordinary good fortune is not guilt, but rather gratitude. Were we to use more than 1% of my claim checks on ourselves, neither our happiness nor our well-being would be enhanced. In contrast, that remaining 99% can have a huge effect on the health and welfare of others. That reality sets an obvious course for me and my family: Keep all we can conceivably need and distribute the rest to society, for its needs. My pledge starts us down that course."

A total of 40 U.S. billionaires have pledged to give away at least 50 percent of their wealth as part of a campaign by investor Warren Buffett and Microsoft founder Bill Gates, which was initiated in June 2010. The Giving Pledge is this very effort to invite the wealthiest individuals and families in America to commit to giving the majority of their wealth to the philanthropic causes and charitable organizations of their choice either during their lifetime or after their death.

The Impossible Dream

About the age of fourteen, I remember reading this article in school as a part of the coursework. It's written by Art Buchwald, a Pulitzer Prize winning American columnist. Read on as Buchwald talks about his experience while sharing a ride with a friend in New York City:

I was in New York City the other day and rode with a friend in a taxi. When we got out my friend said to the driver, "Thank you for the ride. You did a superb job of driving."

The taxi driver was stunned for a second. Then he said, "Are you a wise guy or something?"

"No my dear man, and I'm not putting you on. I admire the way you keep cool in heavy traffic."

"Yeah, sure!" the driver said and drove off.

"What was that all about?" I asked.

"I'm trying to put love back in New York City," my friend said. "I believe it's the only thing that can save the city."

"How can one man save New York City?" I asked.

"It's not one man. I believe I have made the taxi driver's day. Suppose he has 20 fares. He's going to be nice to those 20 fares because someone was nice to him. Those fares in turn will be kinder to their employees or shop-keepers or waiters or even their own families. Eventually the goodwill could spread to at least 1000 people. Now that isn't bad, is it?" he asked.

"But you're depending on the taxi driver to pass your goodwill to others," I responded.

"I'm not depending on it," he said. "I'm aware that the system isn't foolproof so I might deal with 10 different people today. It, out of 10, I can make 3 happy then eventually I can indirectly influence the attitudes of 3000 more."

"It sounds good on paper," I admitted, "but I'm not sure it works in practice."

"Nothing is lost if it doesn't," he stated. "It didn't take any of my time to tell the man he was doing a good job. He neither received a larger tip nor a smaller tip. If it fell on deaf ears, so what? Tomorrow there will be another taxi driver who I can try to make happy."

"You're some kind of a nut," I said.

"That shows how cynical you have become," he exclaimed. "I have made a study of this. The thing that seems to be lacking, besides money of course, for our postal employees is that no one tells people who work for the post office what a good job they're doing."

"But they're not doing a good job," I responded.

"They're not doing a good job," he replied, "because they feel no one cares if they do or not. Why shouldn't someone say a kind word to them?"

We were walking past a structure in the process of being built and passed five workmen eating their lunch. My friend stopped, "That is a magnificent job you men have been doing. When will it be finished?"

"June," a man grunted.

"Ah. That really is impressive. You must be very proud," he stated. We walked away. I said to him, "I haven't seen anyone like you since 'The Man from La Mancha'."

"When those men digest my words, they will feel better for it," he said. "Somehow the city will benefit from their happiness."

"But you can't do this all alone!" I protested. "You're just one man."

"The most important thing is not to get discouraged," he responded. "Making people in this city become kind again is not an easy job, but if I can enlist other people in my campaign..."

"You just winked at a very plain looking woman," I said.

"Yes, I know," he replied. "And if she's a school teacher, her class will be in for a fantastic day!"

This article by Buchwald was originally titled Love and the Cabbie. But I remember it titled ' The Impossible Dream' in my coursework at school, which I feel fits the article quite aptly! Though I stumbled across this years ago, it has been among those precious pieces of text that I have still retained in my conscious mind. It reminds me to practise the simple act of trying to spread a few kind messages to the people whose paths I cross.

A broad smile, a soft gesture, a little helping deed .. all can go a long way in lifting many a heavy hearts that we come across as we traverse the tapestry of our living days! And remember, though 'saving' an entire population may seem like an impossible dream, the most important thing, as Art Buchwald's friend puts it 'is not to get discouraged' :) Just want to add to this by stating, that kindness like charity should begin in our own homes. Practising simple acts of kindness in our families, will enable us to naturally radiate the same feeling to strangers when we step outside our homes.

On a slightly off note, it was during the time I had read this article that I developed the earliest feelings of wanting to visit, explore and experience life in NYC .. which has been a substantial part of my life for the past several years :D