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SpunOut Blog: The feel good factor
In fairness, life can be challenging enough!
Article by : SpunOut.ie
In fairness, life can be challenging enough, and to be asked to do still more can be the push that turns to a pain in the arse shove!
Some days, brushing our teeth, getting ourselves watered and fed decently and feeling good enough to muster half a smile can be challenging enough!
That’s okay. Welcome to the club called the human race!
For the days, hours or minutes we do have or make free, there are endless things we can do (from smiling to giving an organ and loads of random things in between!) that will make a positive and profound difference.
And if you’re just too busy to give time and precious energy, fair enough. Maybe you’re doing things that you don’t even realise are making a huge impact.
Getting an education? Feeding your mind will help you apply your unique skills to help the world go around just a wee bit smoother.
Raising a kid? You’re nourishing our next generation.
On the dole and struggling to keep your feet on the ground, but trying your best? When we mind ourselves, and put energy into figuring out what path we want to be on and how to get on it, we are enabling ourselves to better serve others. Go on ya!
If you just can’t be arsed... if you’re too busy... if you’re too skint... if you’re just looking out for #1... well, you’re going to do what you want to do, aren’t you? Okay okay, BUT, think about how you feel when others give you that hint of support, help, kindness and consideration. Ahhh yes, the feel good factor. If you get what you give, as they say, making some effort to dish out a bit of positivity could be worth considering, eh?
Here’s a taste of what some of the SpunOut Crew DO to make their lovely mark on the world:
- What do I do... hmmm.... I try to start with the people around me, and make time for family and friends, even if I don't feel I have the energy to listen and to help with their problems as well as dealing with my own. I take the time to stop and chat to the elderly folk that live near me and I always greet them with a smile. And lastly, I try to be brave enough to stand up for what I believe rather than stay silent when I hear someone putting another person down or being hateful, cruel or racist. Sometimes it's hard to say: "I don't agree" but it's important.
- This is probably gonna come over all Baz Luhrmann, but here goes. Say please. Say thank you. You might be the only person who says it to someone all day. It won't cost you anything. Gratitude is free. Good intentions will foster good intentions. Smile. It takes less effort to smile than to frown. Try one on for size. LAUGH! It's contagious. Not in a bad way like an STI. I hear it's good medicine too. Chiiilll Outttt. Don't stress it. Stress has a nasty habit of rubbing off on other people. Your glass is half full. Things have a habit of working themselves out. Stay positive. Mind yourself. Be good to yourself now and then. Afterwards, pass those good vibes on to the next person. Have faith in yourself. While The Waterboy said it with some enthusiasm, I think Jimmy Cliff put it best. - Eoghan
- On a personal level, I like to take a deep breath and look around at the wild life while I walk to work, instead of walking with intense purpose, I like to take a gentle pace, and look at the river, the swans, the ducks and the heron standing on one leg, while I go to and from my car as part of my commute to work. On a community level, I'm involved with the local hurling team, so we arranged little fund-raising events and set up a Facebook page to celebrate all our achievements. In a short time, we have raised enough cash for 90 jersey`s... and got loads of people to volunteer their time (unveiling lots of hidden talents) and in the process we helped the club progress, it wasn't hard and every little bit helps! - William
- Every day I wake up and try to remember who I am and where I am. I shower, dress, head outside, get some fresh air and then chomp into some porridge to fuel the engine. I take some time for meditation to clear the mind. I keep the negativity of the 'NAMArama' news from entering my fresh noggin so don't bother with the radio or newspaper. Instead, I tune into the amazing ad free www.radioparadise.com using my iPhone and car speakers. I park up and walk into work past the Spanish Arch bouncing to some groovy tunage and then get stuck into work, and then try to stay focused on what I have planned for the day. As the day goes on, it's harder and harder to stay grounded so I try and take breaks, drink water and get good food and fresh air. By looking after myself I can avoid the illness and burnouts I've had in the past and give my best to my work and in doing so give my best to others. For me, social change has to start with personal change. If we don't at least try to walk the talk, or 'be the change' as Gandhi said, then our attempts at making a difference won't be as powerful as they otherwise can be. - Ruairí
- The mantra 'Take it easy, take it slow' is one I try and stick to. I realise this lyric comes from a classic song about smokin ganja like a chimney, but hey, I find a great life message in it! If everyone and everything is approached with a touch of softness, compassion, and ease, I believe a lot more smiles and love start floating around. I know that sounds fresh from the hippy's mouth, but hey, nothing wrong with wanting to spread the love! - Emily
- Unless my day starts with a decent cup of coffee in my bed then I'm very unlikely to do any good for myself or anyone for the rest of the day. I heard an old saying from someone or other that it's easy to achieve whatever you want if you don't need credit for it and that's about my motto. Years ago in my first proper job I worked in a factory and I was totally amazed at all the little power struggles that went on and how much time they wasted. One result of such muppeting was that people there guarded information as if it was some sort of a secret route to winning the lotto so as a result of that horrendous experience, my piece of usefulness most days involves sharing information. I know loads of people and have loads and loads of online contacts so anything I learn I pass on or anything that might be of use to someone like job openings or events they'd like to go to I circulate. This works great because no one person knows everything (even me) and it seems that in return I also have loads of people to ask when I don't know something or need some vital missing piece of some jigsaw. Maybe more seriously - I have worked in human rights issues either for my job or in my spare time for years and just last week a Mexican woman, Bety Carino, that visited us here in Galway, ate chips in McDonaghs and drank pints in Arus Na Geal, was murdered as a result of her work for the human rights of indigenous people in Oaxaca state in Mexico. Despite the fact that she was killed for this work, all her comrades were out on the streets demanding justice the following day. So when I think I might be too lazy or bored to sign those amnesty letters or write to the politicians here I remind myself that people like Bety are working under threat of death and still keep doing it - so I have no excuse and that usually works. The last thing I do is remember that all the campaigning I am involved in is so others can enjoy all the cool things life in the world has and so I make sure I enjoy all those things myself and don't dwell on the dark side too much! - Sarah
- On Saturday night, the first of May 2010, at approximately half past ten, I sat in a two person kayak floating on forty foot of water in the pitch dark somewhere in west Cork. Below me, in the soupy still water, millions of life forms flitted their way about oblivious to the presence of over a dozen kayakers above them. Behind me, my girlfriend complained that I wasn't doing enough paddling. As we glided silently about our oars disturbed the tiny plankton at the water's surface, causing them to suddenly glow like bright green sparks and then quickly disappear again into the dark. Our guide, a jolly man named Jim, told us that the tiny plankton contribute over eighty percent of the entire food source to the sea. Just then, in the canopy of stars above our heads, we watched the International Space Station pass. A bright white star traveling at 25,000 miles per hour around Earth, and with people on board, oblivious to the presence of over a dozen kayakers below them. Behind me, my girlfriend complained that I still wasn't doing enough paddling. Even if we don't know it, feel it or even believe it, each and every one of us is making a positive difference by just being. -Jason