Day 84 - Buy a box of thank-you notes and birthday cards so you're always ready to mark an occassion.

Before iPads or iPhones or eBooks or eReaders, there was paper, and there was ink. Now that e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, and other ways to stay in touch have taken over our lives, writing letters, thank-you notes, birthday cards, or even invitations is rare in the twenty-first century.

Personal handwritten notes, whether a thank-you note or a birthday note is a simple act of gratitude that goes a long way. It shows appreciation and value which reaches beyond a predictable thank-you. Being that handwritten notes are so meticulously slow — to draft, to send, to assure delivery — they're not a good way to ask for things on a day to day basis. Instead, they're more frequently used to remind others that you value your relationship 

In a generation filled with e-mails, tweets, and text messages; handwriting has become less important in our lives then it has ever been. The U.S. Postal Service's Annual Survey, said that the average home only received a personal letter once every seven weeks, whereas in 1987 personal letters went out at least every two weeks; and per The Wall Street Journal, it has been discovered through a British survey that the average time since an adult wrote anything handwritten at all was 41 days.

While always saying “thank you” is extremely important, the beauty of a well-crafted handwritten note is that it can show deeper investment and appreciation than a simple, verbal “thanks”. It can remind someone they're not forgotten, follow-up on a conversation or include a birthday gift; each card carries its own meaning, and in a world where so much communication is impractical, these simple acts of adoration, remembrance, gratitude, and appreciation can show the people who matter to your personal and business life that they are important to you.

I personally have always been fond of handwritten notes. Many people have a box somewhere with saved handwritten letters and postcards, and they think of them as treasured possessions including myself. So, for today's deed, although I already had some thank-you cards on hand, I went out and bought an extra box along with birthday cards, and what better day to buy them since I received beautiful orchids, so it gave me the opportunity to send out one of my new thank-you cards.

Today, go out and buy yourself a box of cards and send a handwritten THANK YOU or HAPPY BIRTHDAY to someone you care about; being grateful only brings abundance to your life, it's one of the laws of attraction. I'm sure you love receiving them, so today, begin giving them!♥

 "There is always, always, always something to be thankful for."♥

Day 83 - Write a letter to your future self and stash it away to discover later.

If you could speak to your future self, what would you say? What do you want to remember, to hold on to, to figure out, and to forget?

Before writing my letter today, I did some research and this deed is actually a very common task to do, in fact there are a lot of high schoolteachers that give this as an assignment; you must write a five paragraph essay (at least five sentences per paragraph) and aim it towards yourself in 10 years. The purpose of this assignment is to provide a record of your life and who you were; to anchor in time your current views, attitudes, philosophy, and outlook; to explore your feelings and opinions about a variety of issues and to create a document that, years from now, will have significant value to you. 

Something about this deed excited me, it excited me to think about the possibilities in the future and what my facial expression will be five years from now upon reading the letter; and it excited me to think of my life in a time capsule. Just imagine writing a letter to your future self years from now and seeing how much of it resonated with you, the concept and idea fascinate me. In addition, at the very moment you are writing the letter, your consciousness is captured and stored right there in those words. When you open the letter in the future, your future self gets to compare how you used to be in the past and compare with how you currently are.

Writing a letter to my future self helped me step out of today and look forward to tomorrow, it also made me enthusiastic for things I hadn't allowed myself time to contemplate. When my letter was finalized, I sealed it in an envelope and placed it safely in my treasured memory box that I've had since I was a child. I smiled at the possibilities and also got to
clear my mind and think of my true desires in life; which I've never gotten the chance to do before due to today's fast-paced lifestyle.

Today I urge you to write a letter to your future self; it can be anywhere from one year, to five years, even 10 years. It'll inspire, empower and motivate you to live bigger, happier and more fulfilled. Not to mention, with our generations technological developments, sites like Future Me and Letter 2 Future allow you to type a letter to yourself and set the date when you'd like to be e-mailed. Writing a letter to the future you can bring suppressed hopes and dreams to the forefront. Reading them back to yourself on the appointed delivery date can be an extremely powerful movement; no one knows you better than yourself, and it's never more apparent than when you read something written for you, by you.♥

May your life be filled with the love and bliss that is always waiting for you within your soul.♥

Day 82 - Look into the eyes of the person you are talking with.

In the Bible, verse Matthew 6:22-23 it reads, "the eyes are the window to the soul"; many different poets have since used the famous quote including William Shakespeare. The meaning of this verse is that if you look deeply into a person’s eyes, you can tell who they truly are. 

Eyes are one of the best attributes of human expression because they can be direct and elusive, as well as show a million different emotions in just one look. 

There are many reasons why it is important to look someone in the eyes when speaking to them. Looking into the eyes of the person you are talking to shows respect for that person, whether it’s a boss or a friend, it reflects that their opinion is important to you; sincerity can definitely be felt through eye contact.

If you like someone in any shape, way, or form, eye contact is significant because it shows you are actually interested and listening to what they are saying. Eye contact can say so much and show so many different things, it can reflect intimacy, understanding, love, attentiveness and so much more.

I personally get so busy at work sometimes that someone coming into my office for a simple question can irk me, so when they do come in I keep on working hoping that not making eye contact will show them I'm busy. It's an awful thing to do, I know, and I didn't realize it until completing this particular deed.

Today, I made it a point to make eye contact with everyone that crossed my path whether it was the mailman, the stranger waiting in line behind me at CVS, a coworker or a friend. Not only was it nice to take a breather and realize that I'm not a machine made to work and I too deserve a small break, but it also reflected how good the person felt for me taking the time to listen even if it was just to borrow my scotch tape. I can't promise I'll always do what I did today, but I can promise to try.

Today's society consumes us so much and we don't even realize it. Have you ever stopped while at a restaurant and looked around? Most people sitting down are on their cell phones rather than having a conversation. Most people are too busy at work to stop and have a small chat. Most people at the grocery store or in the street are in too much of a hurry to acknowledge another human being. Be that person that makes a difference today and show people that you actually care enough to take the time and look them in the eyes while they're speaking, even if it is your waiter telling you the days special; I can guarantee you will make their day or even their week by a tiny little gesture that takes no effort at all!

"Basic human contact – the meeting of eyes, the exchanging of words – is to the psyche what oxygen is to the brain. If you’re feeling abandoned by the world, interact with anyone you can.”©

Day 81 - Tell your mom your favorite memory of her.

Have you ever noticed how a person's face lights up when you mention a memory of them, or ask them to tell you their favorite memory? Last night in my church small group one of the questions was 'what do you like hearing people talk about?' and when it came my turn to answer, I said I like to hear about people's happy moments, what they love; what they're passionate about; simply because when someone speaks about what makes them happy, their face radiates with light and their eyes shine brighter than the North Star - I can't tell you how much I love seeing people when they look like this.

There may be no love like a mother's love. As the first person you meet and come to know, moms hold a special place in our hearts. From reading to us before bed, tucked in all the way around like a 'butterfly sleeping in a cocoon', to kissing our boo boo's goodbye, mothers are our rock and solitude in an ever changing life. 

When I initially read today's deed, memories rushed through my head making me smile in disbelief that I could even recall those moments at such a young age. So many in fact that I found it is hard to choose just one. The following is my note to my mom:
Dear Momma,
When I look back on my life there are so many millions of little moments that you      have shared with me. You loved me, protected me, taught me and made me into the person that I am today. Through thick and thin, you were always there rooting me on.
There are so many things that I remember from my childhood. I remember collecting Disney ornaments every single year for our Christmas tree, oh how I would be so happy to add a new one to the tree. I remember the way your face shined whenever you received your favorite flowers, sun flowers. And, how could I forget you letting me turn your walk-in closet into a Barbie mansion? The selfless love and compassion you taught me to have for all living things, especially animals; there would not be one animal on the side of the street not rescued by you and placed in a loving home.
    
My list of memories can go on forever for how can you pick only one memory out of half a life time? But, if I did have to choose just one, I would pick the memories I have of every single year on the night before Christmas; in our PJ’s we'd go to the living room where the tree was placed and we would put out cookies and milk for Santa and grass for the reindeers. Normal children, like Danny, would usually wake up in the morning and run directly to the presents under the tree, not I - I would run straight to the table and I would be so excited when I would see the grass chewed and the cookies and milk half eaten that I would scream and jump for joy.

I cannot wait to someday have children of my own so that I can share with them everything you taught me.

My list can go on forever on how you made my life so much better by being in it, but instead I just want to end this note by saying I love you, I appreciate everything you've done and I can only hope to be half the mother you are until this day.

Thank you for the memories.
Love,
Your Princess

In a world where we only like to point out the bad instead of the good, the ugly instead of the pretty, and the sad instead of the happy; we never stop to really appreciate what we have, while we still have it. Today, I encourage you to write a little note to your mom with your favorite memory of her and just watch as her face lights up with joy. In fact, I say we make it a new tradition and write love notes to our cherished loved ones on a normal basis! 

 

"All that I am or hope to be, I owe to my mother" –   Abraham Lincoln ©

Day 80 - Be understanding and truthful.

When I initially read today's deed of the day I thought to myself "I know how to be understanding and truthful already, so how do I complete this deed? what exactly do I have to do?" Confused I decided to look up the meaning and significance behind each word and I soon learned that I was not being 100% understanding and truthful on a daily basis.

The virtue of understanding means using your mind to think clearly, paying careful attention to see the meaning of things. An understanding mind gives you insights and wonderful ideas. An understanding heart gives you empathy and compassion for others. Understanding is the power to think and learn and also to care.

The virtue of truthfulness means being honest in your words and actions. You don't tell lies even to defend yourself. Don't listen to gossip or prejudice. See the truth for yourself. Don't try to be more than you are to impress others. Be yourself, your true self.

I read the meaning to both virtues throughout the day and whenever I dealt with someone at work or a friend I stopped to reassess the virtues in the back of my mind. I tried my best to analyze and understand every situation I confronted today. And when walk-in’s would come into the office asking for me, instead of having my assistant say I'm in a meeting I practiced the truthfulness virtue and accepted them with an open door. Usually I would get stressed at the situation, upset that the person took 10 minutes of my precious, valuable time but today I realized that person walking in caused me to stop and breath for a moment which felt pretty pleasant.

In my yoga class tonight, I also practiced truthfulness and understanding with myself; during a usual class, I dedicate my practice to someone or something that I want to send light and energy too, or someone that might be in need of a little love and bliss. Tonight I dedicated the practice to myself – because truth and understanding comes from within ourselves in order for us to radiate it to someone else, and we are just in as much need of truth and understanding as anyone else, especially since we are usually harder on ourselves.

Today's deed made me realize that love is understanding, seeing, hearing and accepting someone for who they are. In today's day in age people hold a certain expectation of how someone should or shouldn't be; everyone's expectations are different but it still doesn’t make them right.

We have all been guilty of judging others, but when you let go of needing others to live according to your 'right' way, you realize that your life is filled with love and understanding rather than stress and confrontation.

When you show up without criticism and judgment and with understanding in your heart, it allows people to be exactly who they are and love is exchanged.

Tonight as I sit in bed writing this post, I feel at ease and peaceful and have learned that I want to live my life with these two particular virtues. Try practicing your day with a little bit of understanding and truthfulness and you’ll see just how rewarding it will turn out to be.♥

Day 79 - Hold your tongue.

One of the biggest challenges for most people is struggling to hold their tongue; they rather have the last word, whether it’s good or bad. I've never had an issue in this department as I rather hold my tongue than lash out at someone; although, contrary to most, when it comes to my loved ones such as family and friends, holding my tongue is a piece of cake.

However, I do struggle with practicing what I preach; it doesn’t take much fuel to start a fire of complaints, and once those complaints come off of your lips the negative energy takes over your body. Rather than looking at the positives in life, most people tend to bring out the negative and that is a constant battle for me.

The truth is, we all complain, no matter how happy our lives are we still have those days where we can’t help but to grumble. Sometimes we complain without even realizing it and realistically it’s easier to complain about the situation than to do something to fix it. Over time I’ve realized that when you hold your tongue and put your mind toward a more positive outlook rather than complaining, not only do you feel better overall but you can think clearly to make the positive changes for the better.

Today, when asked how my day has been, instead of complaining about the horrible Miami traffic, or about the sales representative who made me wait in line for what seemed like forever, or even about the overflow of vendor e-mails and phone calls; I held my tongue and silently thought about how grateful I was to have a car to get me to work, money in my wallet to allow me to shop and to have such an amazing job which most wish they had. I will continue to practice what I preach because life is such a beautiful thing to waste, and things are taken from you in an instant – realizing how blessed we all truly are, changes our view on life and diffuses the negatives which aren’t really so bad after all.©

Day 78 - Take a yoga class.

This deed was pretty easy because I have been doing yoga now for a little over 1 ½ years; I am so passionate about it that I try to attend class at least 4 times a week or more. Although this deed didn’t introduce me to something new, it was still exciting for me because although I am a yogi bear and know the basic story behind yoga and where it was originated, I’ve never really known the in-depth details and this allowed me to look further into yoga so that I have a stronger knowledge of its background and can deepen my practice.

Born in India, almost 26,000 years ago, yoga is believed to have evolved during the period of the 'Sat Yuga' which is known as their Golden Age – an era in India known for everlasting peace and abundant blessings; filled with seekers of the Eternal Truth. Which is why, even in today's day and age, the word 'yoga' alone radiates peace and tranquility, its meaning is 'to join or unite’. The idea of yoga was for the individual self to unite with their Cosmic Consciousness or the Universal Spirit and yoga was and still is a means to achieve this goal.

It's funny because most people see yoga as this stretching exercise with a bunch of girls in very stretchy clothes who try to tie themselves into very complicated knots for an hour. But, that couldn't be further from the truth.

Yoga is integration and mastery over all levels of the mind, so not only are you working out your body physically but you are also working out your mind mentally. Not to mention that yoga relaxes and puts you in a zen level of peace through Savasana which is a type of meditation that is done at the end of every practice. I find Savasana to be the hardest pose of all, because there are always 100 thoughts running through your mind and it’s hard to clear it completely. But once mastered, you’ll feel a feeling of total relaxation and peace take over your body and it’s guaranteed to leave you with that sensation for the rest of the day.

There are many benefits to practicing and deepening your yoga practice, here are just a few that are sure to make you move forward with taking a yoga class:

• Increase your flexibility & physical strength: Most yoga poses lengthen the ligaments, tendons, and muscles in your body which means you will notice an increase in your body's flexibility when practicing yoga. The more flexible and stronger you become through your practice, the less likely you are to injure yourself during other physical activities and in your everyday life.
• Reduce stress: Yoga is not only an exercise for the body but also for the mind. Yoga focuses on controlling your breath which allows the body AND mind to relax. Not to mention, at the end of every yoga practice, you do Savasana in which you lie on your back, meditate and go into a state of complete relaxation; leaving every thought and feeling out of your life for those 10-15 minutes. After this, you usually leave the class feeling like Jell-O and like a brand new person. Don't we all need this?
• Better mood: Feeling down or sad? Like most exercises, you feel great afterward! Yoga increases your body’s serotonin levels which makes you happy. I walk out of class with ‘yoga high' or 'yoga glow' every time I attend a class.
• Maintain a healthy weight: Being a yogi bear I can tell you by experience, yoga works out every single part of your body and although I have always worked out and been athletic, I have never been so toned in my life. A good yoga class will have you sweating no matter what the temperature in the room is! Yoga is a great way to supplement your regular exercise routine and help you keep your body lean, healthy, and maintain your desired weight.

There are countless reasons and benefits to why you should take up yoga as soon as possible. Your best way to find out if yoga is right for you is to try it out for yourself. Take up yoga today, I promise you will not regret it and will end up wanting to spread the word about yoga and how fabulous it is!!♥

'Be careful with your thoughts, for they become your words. Be careful with your words, for they become your actions. Be careful with your actions, for they become your habits. Be careful with your habits, for they become your character. Be careful with your character, for it becomes your destiny.’ – Anonymous♥