Finding Happiness In 2012 With A Smile

Finding Happiness
Give A Smiley Project

By the time you see this post, several days will have already went by in 2012.  We will be past the New Year celebrations and after the stress of the holiday season, many will be settling back into the routine of life.  Hopefully you haven't already forgotten about your New Year's resolutions or whatever it is that you focused on as the calendar ticked forward.

As we inch forward in our lives, I hope that each day is a new year of celebrating in our life of what possibilities lie ahead.  It should not just be about one moment in time that we hoop, holler and jump up and down.  It should be something we carry through each and every day.

I wrote an article that was published right before 2012 started.  The title was "Finding Happiness In 2012 With A Smile".  You see, I'm a believer that as we find happiness in our own life, that it will radiate forward and we'll end up sharing it with others.  Most likely we will share it before we even think about it.

One such way of sharing that happiness from our life in the year of 2012 is by offering a smile to others we meet.  There is a movement that is off to a wonderful start called the Give A Smiley Project.  The hope of this movement is that by one smile at a time, we can change the world.

Give Your Christmas Cards A Free Smiley

Give Your Christmas
Cards A Free Smiley

Christmas can be such a wonderful time of the year.  It is filled with anticipation of a magical day to come.  The Christmas cookies, the tree, and all the Christmas carols make December a fun-filled month.

Of course, we cannot forget the Christmas card.  It is a tradition practiced among friends, businesses and organizations.  In fact, it is estimated that each household sends out approximately 30 Christmas cards each year, and in the US, over 3 billion are sent through the mail.

It is always a pleasure and a joy to receive Christmas cards in the mail.  When I get a card in the mail, I tape it to the door frames around our house and it becomes a festive decoration that just adds to the season.  However, I'm not as diligent sending them out as some of my friends.

Here's an idea that I believe will give you an added bonus when sending out your Christmas cards this year.  I'm not sure if you have heard of the Give A Smiley Project, but it is a movement to send out free downloadable smileys in the mail.  It is very and easy to do.  The purpose is to light up the day of the person receiving the smiley, and by doing so, help change the world one smiley at a time.

Give A Smiley Project Official Launch

Today is an exciting day for the Give A Smiley Project as this is the official launch day for the Project.  Okay, in some ways, it is the relaunch.  However, the Give A Smiley Project has been reborn and rebirthed in a way that gives this movement, its own place on the internet! No more, is it a subsidary of my own personal website.  The Give A Smiley Project was too important for that.

The Give A Smiley Project is all about helping change the world, one smiley at a time!  Everything on the site is free, accessible and open to anyone wishing to join in to help change the world.  We're inundated every day with so much negative news, comments and situations that we need something positive for our world.  It is my hope that this movement can offer something positive.

In addition, to the relaunch or the official launch of the Give A Smiley Project, everyone can now participate in the 12 Week Smiley Challenge!  This challenge is free and allows anyone to sign up and receive once a week emails for 12 weeks that walk you through exercises to help make the smiley project have a bigger impact on your life and the world.  No, you will not be spammed nor will this be used in any commercial way whatsoever.


I hope you'll check out Give A Smiley Project site and sign up for the 12 week challenge!  My hope is that this movement will touch every corner of the world and that lives will truly be changed as a result.  Of course, the only way others can hear about it is if you participate in it and spread the word!

So, go ahead - check the site out!  http://www.smileyproject.com

If you want to follow us on Twitter, @ProjectSmiley

Today Is Random Act Of Kindness Day, March 1

I am reposting this because today is March 1. Hopefully you'll find some way to show a random act of kindness for someone. Remember, the small things in life can be life changing for others. So why not impact the world and let your inner self smile at the same time.

(as posted on February 1, 2011)

I saw this event for March 1 on Facebook called "Random Act Of Kindness Day" and wanted to help spread the word. It is a wonderful idea and if you go to the facebook page you can read the details. Here are a few of the main points. The idea was created by Brenda Trotier

To help make the world a little brighter and happier, perform one, two, three or more Random Acts of Kindness. Here are the rules:

The first act of kindness should be to a friend, family member or coworker.

The second act of kindness should be to a stranger, and they must know that you are the person to perform the act of kindness (ex: hold the door for the person behind you, treat someone in line near you to a cup of coffee at Starbucks, etc).

The third act of kindness should be made to a stranger, and they must not know the identity of the person who performs it (ex: charitable contribution, pledge, even a few coins in a parking meter).

Please invite as many people to participate as you can; the world needs as much kindness as it can get.


Link to The Facebook Page, Random Act Of Kindness - March 1


And here is another concept that goes along with this which is a project I've been working on. It is called the Give A Smiley Project. I send out little smileys that you can download from my website and mail out to people you know or don't know. The idea is to help brighten their day a little bit and hopefully changes the world from a gloomy, negative one to one that is a little more hopeful and peaceful. Click on Smiley Project on my website.



Blog Post & Images (c) 1/31/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com

Random Act Of Kindness Day, March 1

I saw this event for March 1 on Facebook called "Random Act Of Kindness Day" and wanted to help spread the word. It is a wonderful idea and if you go to the facebook page you can read the details. Here are a few of the main points. The idea was created by Brenda Trotier

To help make the world a little brighter and happier, perform one, two, three or more Random Acts of Kindness. Here are the rules:

The first act of kindness should be to a friend, family member or coworker.

The second act of kindness should be to a stranger, and they must know that you are the person to perform the act of kindness (ex: hold the door for the person behind you, treat someone in line near you to a cup of coffee at Starbucks, etc).

The third act of kindness should be made to a stranger, and they must not know the identity of the person who performs it (ex: charitable contribution, pledge, even a few coins in a parking meter).

Please invite as many people to participate as you can; the world needs as much kindness as it can get.


Link to The Facebook Page, Random Act Of Kindness - March 1


And here is another concept that goes along with this which is a project I've been working on. It is called the Give A Smiley Project. I send out little smileys that you can download from my website and mail out to people you know or don't know. The idea is to help brighten their day a little bit and hopefully changes the world from a gloomy, negative one to one that is a little more hopeful and peaceful. Click on Smiley Project on my website.



Blog Post & Images (c) 1/31/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com

Smiles On Your Faces

Today, I once again visited the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Orlando, Florida to walk the Labyrinth. A friend of mine joined us for the walk and this was the first time that she had ever been around a labyrinth.

On our way up the elevator to where the labyrinth is located, a cancer patient was getting on the elevator at the same time. She made the comment that she just had chemotherapy and today was the good day but she knew that the next two days were going to be rough. While I'm not sure exactly what happens in chemotherapy, she briefly explained that the following two days was the body's time of flushing all the bad stuff out. From the little I know about cancer, chemotherapy is a pretty rough ordeal to go through.

The part that got my attention was how much this lady was smiling and so warm and friendly. Her smile lit up the entire elevator and you could not help but smile back at her. Yet, one could understand the horror that she was facing in life. It hit me so much that a person who was going through what she is going through, was able to look at others and give them a smile that would really impact their day. She was not worried about what she was going through. She was more concerned with how we were doing on this day.

And I remember her parting words as she left the elevator, "it is great to see smiles on all your faces because that helps give me hope and a smile." Here was compassion through a smile that is so often missing in our society of greed and the quest for power and control. Just one smile made a big difference. Just one smile shared with us, helped warm the hearts of everyone in that elevator.

Think about the smile that you can give many people in your day and just for a moment, stop and realize how powerful that is to others. All it takes is asking your face muscles to make a smile. That's it! That's all! It is that simple! Yet, that simple act is so powerful. It can give hope to someone who is facing insurmountable odds. It can brighten someone's day. A smile can drastically change life for someone and you may not even realize just how true that is in the moment.

All too often we use our facial muscles to create words of fear, hate, and judgment upon others. We all know how harmful this is to other people, ourselves included, and also to the entire world. For what we do to one another spreads beyond that simple moment of what we say. Instead of using our facial muscles to scream or rant and rave or sit in judgment of another person, why not use these muscles to share a smile that may very likely change the world in a positive way.

This is one reason I started the Give A Smiley Project that you can find on my website at www.donshetterly.com . Just look for the smiley on the page (or the word smiley as I am in the processing of redesigning the website). You'll see what the Give A Smiley Project is all about. It isn't about money, fame or riches. It is about passing a Smiley on to someone that you know or someone that needs a smiley so that it impacts their day. On my website, I've got a page full of smileys that you can download, print and mail or give out to those you meet and those you know.

The concept of the Give A Smiley Project is based in part on the concept portrayed in the movie, "Pay It Forward". This means that if you receive a smiley or are impacted by it that you pass it on.

I hope one day that these smileys will reach all across the world and touch the lives of many. That is my hope because I believe that a smiley can make such a big difference in the life of someone that may be facing difficult circumstances. It may seem like a small act of kindness to you but to someone else, it may greatly impact their day. I send out one smiley every week to some person and every time I place it in the mailbox, it warms my heart.

May your heart be warmed by the Give A Smiley Project and may you do this to help impact our world in a positive way. Ask yourself, who can I give a smiley to at this very moment? Then, go and do it! Don't wait for another day because the timing of today may be for a reason.


Blog Post & Images (c) 12/5/10 Don Shetterly - use by permission only

Give A Smiley Project

Today, I am launching a new project called "Give A Smiley Project". There are so many negative events happening in our days and our lives, that I just wanted to see if this small little idea could take off and really impact everyone in the world in a positive way. I have no idea what will happen but it all starts with passing a smile along to someone who has impacted our life. I won't give anymore details away here right now because you can read all about it on my website. For more information, go to http://www.smileyproject.com. There is nothing to buy, no spam and it is just something that will hopefully give you a smile.

While I'm launching this idea on the web, it is meant to be something personal that is given face to face or through the mail. The internet is fine and allows many close connections, but this is something that is much greater than that. It allows a more personal connection in this endeavor.

Please share this with your friends and pass it on!