I like to find ways to reconnect with goodness. This summer has been so peaceful and filled with love for me that I wanted to find a way to pass on the simple joy I’ve been feeling.
That’s when I remembered a book my publisher gave me at a recent book event: 29 Gifts. Its premise is simple: give 29 gifts to people in a month. A perfect idea! I love the idea of sending good karma into the world. I believe that the positive energy we send out into the world comes back to us, so that it’s important to be kind and honest.
The 29-day project began simply, with the easy gifts first: new bed clothes for my daughter and a poster of a favorite character for my son. My mom was easy, too, as well as a few of my best friends. But 29 people is a lot! It soon became obvious that reaching the goal of giving 29 gifts was going to require scale… and anonymity.
The first thing that it occurred to me to give was books (of course), so I made a list of friends and tried to match a special read to each. Then I left them in their mailboxes with a short, hand-written note. I bought a pack of gum for a kid at the store who was standing in line behind me, and I bought a bone for a dog that gets walked in front of my house each day. I’m half way through and I already feel the transformative power of giving.
The author undertook this project as a way to refocus her attention away from her chronic neurological disease, on advice from an African faith healer. The idea is that by focusing on giving to others, you stop concentrating so much on yourself and your own worries.
You know I write often about my desire to send love and positive energy out into the world each day. I want to leave the world a little better than I found it, and help the people around me feel loved. So since I thought I already do a pretty good job of being kind and thoughtful, I thought maybe this project wouldn’t do that much for me. But I was wrong! Giving a gift a day takes focus and thought, and helps shift your thinking in an ongoing way. I highly recommend checking this book out, if only for one woman’s inspirational story. Proud to be published by the same house!
Click here: 29 Gifts: How a Month of Giving Can Change Your Life
