Wellness Challenge

“Nothing can make our lives, or the lives of other people, more beautiful than perpetual kindness.” –Tolstoy

According to Psychologies,” kindness is a new kind of bravery, an everyday heroism to counter the general culture of cynicism. By being kind, we take the risk of being had. It requires courage. Anyone can take advantage of generosity, and there are plenty of people who believe that others are only kind to them when they want something, or because they’re afraid. So it’s important to remember that being kind does not mean being a doormat: you still have to assert yourself and stand up for what’s right.”

So how do we become kinder? And how to find the right balance of openness and assertiveness? Psychologist Piero Ferrucci explains that it helps to consider kindness as a number of component parts:

• Empathy Trying to understand what’s going on in the mind of a friend who is angry, rather than responding in kind.

• Modesty Instead of boasting about our achievements or happiness, actively listening to our friends helps us feel happy just to be with them.

• Patience Rather than tut impatiently when the person in front of you at the checkout spends a couple of minutes chatting with the cashier, remind yourself how important these small human exchanges can be.

• Generosity Offering someone a gift, the benefit of your wisdom, or your time, helps you appreciate the pleasure of their company more than keeping these things to yourself.

• RespectListening to someone else without judging; accepting their point of view as valid, even if you disagree.

• Loyalty Being trustworthy gives us the pleasing feeling of being true to ourselves, as well as to others.

• Gratitude Taking a moment to give thanks for our good health and good fortune, and recognizing how much we value our loved ones, makes us aware of how much we actually have, and lessens any feelings of regret or frustration.

So in February I thought it would be awesome to challenge you to do a random act of kindness everyday, it doesn’t have to be a grand elaborate gesture but I do think it should be intentional. Look for opportunities in every interaction. If you’re not sure where to start, here is some inspiration:

Bring a healthy treat to work and share with your coworkers.
If you walk by a car with an expired parking meter, put a quarter in it.
Put your phone away and be present with those around you.
Keep an extra umbrella on hand, so you can lend it out when it rains.
Don’t interrupt when someone else is speaking. (It’s harder than you think!)
Compliment someone to their boss.
Join the bone marrow registry. Certain types of patients with blood cancers can survive only if doctors find a bone marrow match for a transplant.
Leave a server a big tip for giving great service.
Smile, just because.
Tweet or Facebook message a genuine compliment to three people right now.
When shopping, Let the person behind you at checkout with one or two items go ahead of you.
While you’re out, give genuine compliments to the people you come in contact with.
Get an email address for your kids and send them memories, achievements, awards, etc. Give them access to the address at 18.
Cook a meal or do a load of laundry for a friend who just had a baby or is going through a difficult time.
Give someone a book you think they’d like.
Invite someone to dinner
Say “thank you” to someone who made a difference. . . .Send a card to people who dedicate their lives to helping us – soldiers, police officers, fire fighters and teachers to name a few.
Call your family, grandparents, parents, siblings, just to say hello and that you are thinking of them.
Write something nice on that person’s updates who posts on Facebook constantly. They’re probably lonely.
Pay the toll for the person behind you
Encourage someone to pursue their dreams
Donate unused items, clothes, electronics or toys to a local charity.
Become a mentor.
Volunteer!
If you’re an Amazon.com customer, you can donate Amazon.com’s money to your favorite U.S. Nonprofit through Amazon Smile. It takes a total of 20 seconds to read how to do this and set it up. Then Amazon will donate to your favorite nonprofit each time you make a purchase.
Donate to a food bank.
Hold the door.
Pick up a strangers’ tab when you’re out to eat.
Help an elderly neighbor, (shovel the sidewalk, bring in the groceries)
Plant a tree.
When everyone around you is gossiping about someone, be the one to point out something nice.
Deliver flowers, to local nurses at the hospital, nursing homes, where ever you could spread some cheer!
Pick up litter.
Be the light in someones day
If you know someone is overwhelmed – perhaps by a new baby, family health issues, or something else – give them a call when you’re going out to the store. Ask if they’d like you to pick something up.
Create a holiday to celebrate someone you love.

Want more ideas? Check out KindSpring for more inspiration!

You can even order Smile Cards, the idea behind them is to do something kind for someone and leave the Smile Card behind, so that they know someone reached out to them, and that they are invited to pay-forward the kindness and keep the ripples going!

To request Smile Cards, visit KindSpring here. A volunteer will mail you an order of ten cards within two weeks. Smile Cards are offered to anyone who requests them on a pay-it-forward basis. What that means is, there is no set charge. Someone before you has paid for your cards, and you are invited to keep the chain going and pay-forward whatever you wish for the next person! For special events or circumstances, you can also place a bulk request.

According to, Birju Pandya “The [Smile] cards were a pocket-sized prompt to be a better person! I began to realize that what I was carrying wasn’t just some nice cards — I was carrying the potential for generosity in every interaction.”

Kindness has the ability to transform your perception of those around you-give it a try! How has being kind changed the way you live your life? Leave a comment I would love to hear your story!

The Dangers Of Commercial Laundry Products

The smell of clean laundry used to be one of my favorite smells in the world, the tropical fragrance of the detergent and fabric softener had the power to transport me to a faraway beach, even if only for a fleeting moment. I loved laundry, or so I thought, but then my love affair with laundry came crashing to a halt.

It turns out laundry detergent and fabric softener are toxic, despite advertising that tells you your clothes are sparkling clean and fresh. There are many chemicals in laundry products, including phenols, optical brighteners, bleach, surfactants like sodium lauryl sulfate, and fragrance. Today our focus is on 1,4-dioxane, probably a lesser known chemical. The EPA has classified 1,4-dioxane as a Group B2, probable human carcinogen.

The Huffington Post Reported,

Last fall, Women’s Voices for the Earth commissioned lab tests on 20 cleaning products and found that “problematic” levels of 1,4-dioxane were detected in original formula Tide detergent (63 parts per million) as well as fragrance-free Tide Free & Clear (89 ppm). Significantly smaller amounts of the chemical were found in Bounce Free & Clear dryer sheets (less than 1 ppm). Women’s Voices for the Earth along with other organizations presented Procter & Gamble with the findings and demanded action. A Change.org petition was even created in an effort to pressure P&G to do something. As reported by MNN family blogger Jenn Savedge back in February, the campaign is primarily focused on Tide Free & Clear given that the product is promoted by P&G as a “healthy” detergent ideal for newborns and babies.
The company’s response? Don’t sweat it, folks. There’s no reason to freak out. “We are many, many levels of magnitude below the levels that are considered any level of safety risk,” Tim Long, a Procter & Gamble toxicologist said in response to the findings, which, as of now, have not prompted the company to reformulate Tide. Although Tide is not currently on the chopping block, P&G has continually reformulated other products in an effort to lower levels of 1,4-dioxane and other potentially harmful ingredients. In 2010, the company’s line of Herbal Essence shampoos were reformulated so that they contained less than 10 ppm of 1,4-dioxane.

This information prompted me to look for safer alternatives that are still effective. The first recipe I found came from homemademamas.net, it is an effective recipe but it uses Fels Naptha, which after further research I found has some mildly toxic ingredients including Titanium dioxide, another possible carcinogenic. So I reformulated the recipe and here is what I came up with using castile soap rather than Fels Naptha.

All Natural Laundry Detergent Recipe

Makes 2 Gallons Detergent

Ingredients & Supplies

1 Bar Castile Soap, grated

1 cup Borax

1 cup Washing soda

Bucket (large enough to accommodate 2 gallons)

Large Pan

Long Handled spoon

2 clean, empty gallon containers

Directions

Put 4 cups of water and grated soap in large pan, stir occasionally over medium heat until soap is completely dissolved. Remove from heat, add Borax and washing soda, stirring until dissolved. Add 4 cups hot water to the bucket and then soap mixture, stir. Add an additional 6 cups plus 1 gallon of water to the bucket and stir well. Let cool and pour into empty gallon containers. Use 1/2 cup per load.

You may notice this recipe comes out pretty thin, but I am not as worried about the viscosity of my detergent as I am about its toxicity. If you would like a thicker detergent try the recipe with Fels-Naptha.

Add scent with 100% therapeutic grade essential oils from doTERRA , my favorite is Wild Orange.

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