This is one of my pet theories.  The idea that all things on the planet are connected and affected by seemingly unrelated or insignificant actions is called the Butterfly Effect (and I'm not talking about the movie with Ashton Kutcher).  It's a powerful idea because it implies that even small actions could have an impact beyond the scope we could imagine.  The name comes from the example of a butterfly flapping its wings in Brazil could move air that ultimately causes a tornado in Missouri.

Just like the movie Pay It Forward, kindness can ripple out from any one person or any one action.  Of course the more people and actions perpetuating kindness, the bigger the impact overall.  On a personal note, I had an extended opportunity to flip through a People magazine at a doctor's office last week.  My elderly neighbor's car was in the shop, and I drove her to a doctor's appointment which ended up taking from 8:30 to 12:30...I was happy to read among all the chatter in the magazine a few inspiring blurbs.  One was "The Most Influential Celeb Do-Gooders."  According to a survey of the under-25 set conducted by dosomething.org, Oprah Winfrey tops the list of stars whose impact on young people prompts them to get involved.  Followed by Al Gore, Lance Armstrong, Angelina Jolie and Bono.  These celebs equal a swarm of butterflies!  Which reminds me of an amazing video my friend Sydney sent me (technical note:  I thought I could upload the video, but it didn't work.  I'm going to work on getting it up.  In the meantime, there's a photo above & Sydney's description of the event below.)

Butterflies - that's great!  Ever since you sent me that card I always think of you when I see them.  Keeps you close even though you're a great distance away.  Speaking of butterflies we saw the most amazing thing this summer @ Mt. Lassen.  We camped there for a week around the 4th of July holiday.  We hiked to the top of top of Lassen Peak (over 10,000 ft elevation), and at the peak there were swarms, I mean SWARMS, of these butterflies.  Incredible.  We took a video.  Hope you can download.

Enjoy!

My very good friend Lindsey is having knee surgery next week. It'll be the second time she's going through the surgery and needless to say, she's not super excited about it. Who would be excited about surgery?

She'll be recouping for two weeks in Ventura and I've already written a long list of what I'll send her in a fun care package. I'm thinking DVDs, Mad Libs, puzzles, jokes, letters, balloons, magazines and little bits of fun and sunshine.

Lindsey has a wide circle of friends, many of which are mutual friends and so I've sent out a rally cry, Project Lindsey. I'm rallying the troops to also reach out and send their love, kindness and encouragement via snail mail, email, phone calls or perhaps carrier pigeon. When I sent a note to our friend Jenny about it, she quickly responded and said, "Yes! I'll be sending her some stamped love."  Stamped love - I love that!

I can't be there in person to perform a song and dance routine to help pass the time but I CAN let her know in more ways than one, that she's courageous, brave and loved by me and many others.

I was all out-of-sorts yesterday, which meant it was the perfect day for an impromptu visit to the local cup cake shop (The Cupcakery).  I had Lilah in the stroller already because we were coming back from the sitters' & my friend had called to say she couldn't come over, so we were off and strolling & there was at least one cup cake with my name on it, I was pretty sure.

In a few blocks we were there.  I picked out a Raspberry Creme (feature flavor of the week) for Lilah and I, and a Tuxedo for my sweet-tooth-in-crime friend Doug.  Lilah and I were the only ones in the store and I decided to just dig in!  Lilah loved it & so did I (wish I had photos--it was too cute!).  We devoured it in a few minutes, and I think I made progress in teaching her the baby-sign for "more" but I'm not sure...

Any way, we were ready to brave the cold again & take Doug his cup cake (just a few more blocks away).  I went to pay for the cupcakes and realized I didn't have my wallet!  How embarrassing, and I HAD ALREADY EATEN ONE cup cake!!!!!!!!

Well, the young woman waiting on us, insisted (I mean insisted, and pulled out her cute little wallet in a lightening-fast motion) on buying the cup cake I had already eaten, AND the one for Doug!  It was so sweet (her gesture, of course)....

Needless to say, I'm heading back to the Cupcakery tomorrow to pay her, Carrie, back (plus pay her compliments to the store manager/owner)....

Definitely an act of kindness.

My New Year's Resolution is to weave kindness into the fabric of my everyday life.  I came to this resolution because I was feeling quite overwhelmed by all the activities I've put in motion over the last few years, and making time for new ideas and (kindness) projects wasn't happening & was making me sad.

I kept coming back to: do I promote kindness through a business that licenses feel-good art (a huge entrepreneurial endeavor), do I promote kindness through maintaining a lifestyle website dedicated to the kind-minded (a separate huge endeavor), do I promote kindness through a blog, or do I promote kindness through MY lifestyle.

Of course, like everything else, balance and moderation are the key.  I can't sit at my computer documenting kindness all day, without living it.  I can't sell artwork about kindness without taking a stand for it's importance in everyday life, and on and on.  It's a circle of commitment that I whole-heartedly believe in & signed up for.  So how do I remedy the "sadness" of not getting to act on all the kindness ideas I have?

Well, this year I'm going to think small.  I love (LOVE!) the phrase "think big"-----but for me right now, it's "think small."

I resolve to include kindness in small ways whenever I can.  Here are some examples of how I can do this:

• compliment my husband on the things he does (rather than point out the things he doesn't do).
• buy the USPS stamp that helps a non-profit (like the Breast Cancer Awareness stamp, $0.14 more than the regular stamp)
• round my gas bill up when I write a check (the additional pennies will help another family stay warm).
• when I'm folding laundry I will think how lucky I am to have so many clothes (rather than be crabby that I'm doing laundry)
• same with making the bed & cleaning up the same dirty floor after every feeding of the baby
• when I'm walking, I'll throw my neighbors paper from the sidewalk closer to their door.
• when I bake some cookies or cupcakes, I'll bring a few to one of my neighbors "just because".
• when I order coffee at the cafe, I'll be sure to start the interaction with the barista with a "hi, how is your day going?" (rather than "I'll take a half decaf/half caff, please.")
• same with admin-type folks [customer service reps in particular] that I may talk with throughout the day.

I could go on, but you get the idea.  This resolution will help me go a little slower through my day, as well as be mindful about the things I'm doing and how they sound/feel to others.  It will all add up to "big kindness", right?  We never know how far an act of kindness can ripple...

So 2008 for me is about thinking small, small acts of kindness that is.  If you have more ideas for me, please share your comments.

--Emma