Let's spread a little love around

The thought was raised on another thread to..."spread a little love around to counteract the hate." And it occurred to me that yes! we should each do that!

So what one thing do YOU do to spread love? Or, what would you seriously like to do to START spreading love around? Maybe we can give each other some good ideas to make this world a little nicer place for those we can reach.

Me, I go to a nursing home where a relative of mine is living on the Alzheimers floor. Along with spending time with her, I like to be a friend to the others too. They really need attention. They respond positively to just a smile or a wave, and though they sometimes don't make much sense, they love to talk. And I love to listen.

Anyone else?

I retired from cleaning house and washing windows for a woman, when my Mom died. She hasn't found anyone to take my place, so I volunteered to wash the windows she looks out the most, for free. If I did them all she would insist on paying me.

Thanx, nap.

I'm gonna try harder to make people smile ~ since smiles tend to be infectious. I try to do it at school. I know a lot of kids (my step-son included) that go to school where I do & they are sooo stressed out ~ being in their 1st semester in college & all. I give them words of "encouragement".
One of my professor's has not been feeling well, so I go to check on him 2-3 times a week. I can aways get him to laugh. Actually...come to think of it....this makes my day. I hope that I make his day.

I adopt shelter cats and stray cats. I make them smile. Well, purr, but that's their way of smiling.

white....i rescue cats also....i think we saw each other on another forum about this....anyway, about 20 in our population right now:) great thread!!!

I have found that a smile goes a long way. I used to go around in such a hurry, working, tending a family, shopping, and I have found since I retired that smiling at complete strangers, makes me feel happier, and I hope they do too. Once I had a lady escort me with her umbrella from the grocery to my car, during a terrible rain storm, and said that I had such a nice smile, she just felt compelled to help me out. What a nice thought.

For the past couple of years I've been volunteering with the music program at my kids' school. I'm having a baby in November though, so I'm taking this year off.

One thing I've been wanting to start is to send a card to at least one person each week, just to let them know I was thinking of them or appreciated something they did. It's so nice to get mail that isn't just bills and often it's the small and simple things that mean so much.

So now I'm going to commit to it. We'll be in the city in October and I'll pick up a bunch of cards there so I can start 'spreading the love.'

I used to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity, building houses for low-income folks. I quit as I begin to get sick. Now that I'm almost well again, I think I'll sign up with them. I enjoy working with other volunteers whose whole purpose is to make someone's life better.

I surprise my brother often by cleaning his house. When he walks in the door and smells the Pledge, he immediately smiles, knowing his house is clean, his clothes have been washed, dried, and hung up, and often there's a meal or some beer in the fridge for him.

Every so often, I pick someone to cheer up with a boxful of plants for no other reason than to just brighten the person's day.

And my number one thing to do to make people smile is to carry my dog with me everywhere I go. People know him by name, altho they sometimes don't know my name. He gets treats at every drive thru we go thru (including restaurants). Today, in fact, we went to the bank. And just like a child, he got out of the backseat and came up to the front seat and leaned around me so they would see him. He knows if they see him, he gets a milkbone. And they always laugh at his "Don't forget my treat!" expression. LOL (Made you smile, didn't I?)

Such a pretty dog!

Gillibean, you reminded me of this story. Years ago, a friend from work got really sick. Everyone sent a card. But the cards tend to stop if the illness is a long one. I vowed not to let that happen, and told my friend I planned to send him a card every week until he got back to work.

Well, he never did get back to work, but from January till August I was faithful with sending him cards. In mid-August, I sent him a Christmas card, joking that I'd run out of cards and was at the bottom of my cardbox. He got a laugh out of it.

Shortly thereafter he took a serious turn for the worse, and went downhill fast. At his funeral, I was told that he had a feeling he was losing the battle, and commented that my Christmas card was important to him because it would be the only one he would get that year.

So send those cards. They sometimes mean more to the recipient than we know.

nap,That is really touching. I believe that the sick & dying know when their time is up before anyone else.
And the lovely roses are a special touch.

nap, what a sweet thing to do. I just love getting cards, recently got a thank you and for the life of me couldn't think of what I had done to deserve it. So called the lady and asked, and she said that it was "just because" you are so sweet,and thoughtful, and I know that I am always on your prayer list, and I get invited every time you have an event, and I know that if I really needed something, I could call you, and you would "get it done". How sweet. I hope that I am remembered as a kind, caring person. I always say, funerals are beside the point, the person's life has already preached the funeral.

You guys are wonderful!

I don't do as much as I should and lately I've been more on the receiving end. But I have a lovely story to share of one of the nicest things I have ever done...

My closest friend died several years ago and was cremated. On the way to the Memorial Service, on some kind of whim, I stopped and I bought 2 dozen long stemmed yellow roses and asked my friends in the back seat to pull off ALL the petals and bag them.

After the service, her mother and brother and several of us went out to the river she loved to scatter her ashes. Then I passed around the bag of yellow petals and everyone threw in a handful of petals following the ashes. So our last visual memories of her are of the yellow petals gently flowing down the river.

Oh, darius....That is a special gesture...