Weeks 6, 7 and 8

Well, as you can see, I missed a couple weeks of posts. I humbly ask forgiveness and understanding. Let's review the tips for the last couple weeks (which you saw if you're my friend on Facebook).

Week 6: Pick up litter. That one is pretty self-explanatory, I think. If you see trash, pick it up. A clean neighborhood is one to be proud of.

Week 7: I posted this one on Bill of Rights Day. Read, understand and protect the first ten amendments for every person. Yes, even the ones who don't agree with you.

Week 8: Pause...In many of the world's religions the coming of winter and the impending return of the sun (at least here in the northern hemisphere) is a time of pause, reflection and celebration. Take time to stop, breathe deeply and relax.

I am going to be taking my own scheduled pause. I am going to take the next two weeks and spend time with my family and friends. I am also going to do my own relaxing and breathing. I hope to do a few picture and/or video posts during that time. I will be back in the new year with more tips for strengthening your community.

Have a wonderful winter holiday, whichever you choose to celebrate. If your chosen holiday has already passed, I do hope it was full of wonder and magic.

Thanks to http://decktheholidays.blogspot.com/2010_09_24_archive.html for the picture.

Reflections...

Here is a comment from one of my Facebook friends:

"Since moving to Iowa, we live these 'tips & values' every day. It's interesting to read these & think we used to have to work to make them happen. I love that I wave &/or talk to everyone I meet on our downtown square, whether I know them or not. I appreciate when something about us is in the newspaper, I open my mailbox & find a pile of the clippings from the elderly in town that thought to clip it for us to keep. I value when our neighbor is making a home improvement or changing a tire in his driveway, that we are always there to assist. It's so wonderful."

Week 5: A Pause for Reflection

This week, I think we should stop and reflect on what we have done so far. Have you met your neighbors? Did you share an item or a talent? Did you find something to be thankful for?

I'm happy so far. The project is making me more aware of what I could be doing to strengthen my community and I often make different choices now. For instance, last night the family went to our community tree-lighting ceremony. In the past I would not have even considered it, but we had a good time and I'm glad we went. I'm sure there are opportunities that I'm missing and I need to keep my eyes open for those.

I would love to hear about how the project is affecting you at this point. Leave a comment, or, if you'd like, write a few paragraphs and become my first guest blogger!

Week 4: Be Thankful

Being thankful is sort of a theme this week, right? At least in the United States, that is. But I bet many of us forget to be thankful the other 51 weeks of the year. It's very easy to get caught up in all of the things that we don't have or that have gone wrong in our lives, but everyone always has something they can be thankful for. I'm not naive, I know times are tough for a lot of people in the world. Even in the toughest of times, though, there is something for you to be thankful for. Take a moment and consider your life. Are you healthy? Do you have a roof over your head? Do you have a great family? Do you have at least one wonderful friend? Do you have a job you love? Do you have a hobby you love? If you answered yes to even just one of those questions, then you have something to be thankful for every day of the year.

Personally, I am extremely thankful for my wonderful family and amazing friends, and so, keeping them in mind, this will be my only blog post this week. I'll be back after the holiday, but for this week I plan on giving the gift of time to my family and friends and being thankful for every second of it.

Image: giving thanks courtesy of TheAlieness GiselaGiardino