All Politics Aside…
Even though times may be tough, you can give TWICE as much this holiday season without spending a dime and you can lift your spirits and improve your health at the same time. Studies have shown that helping others in need can improve your emotional well-being, relieve stress, strengthen your immune system, decrease the intensity and awareness of physical pain, and produce a rush of euphoria, followed by a longer period of calm called a helpers high.
So, visit a nursing home, a childrens ward in a hospital, a veterans hospital, a neighbor in need, a Humane Society. Volunteer at a soup kitchen, a homeless shelter, or a Salvation Army Christmas dinner for the needy. Use coupons for free food items and donate them to charity. Donate that tight outfit that you THINK youll be able to fit in next year (or the year after) to a charitable flea market. Give a PRICELESS gift by promising to stop an annoying habit that irritates a loved one, a friend or an enemy. Pick your socks off the floor, or take out the garbage.
In the words of a little known author named John Wesley
Continue to
Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can
Happy Holidays everybody!