More Joy Day reminder/thoughts
2011 was a real pain in the ass, and full of an intense amount of sorrow as judging by my beloved flist. 2012, personally, is not shaping up to be all that much better for at least the first part, so I could really use any opportunity to squeeze any joy out of it that I can. As such, I am actually really looking forward to More Joy Day this year. The other day as I was thinking about what I was going to do, I came up with a list of things that could be done inexpensively/easily and thought I'd share it, since I know many of you are as strapped for time/money as I am, if not more.
I also want to emphasize that the whole point of More Joy Day is to do one small thing that will make someone else feel better, with the hope that they'll then go on with their day in a much more positive manner and maybe spread that to someone else, and them to someone else, and so on, making a long link of small, joyful acts that would not otherwise exist. It's not to make the most impressive fandom-related thing or spend a ton of money or even have to do more than one act - though all of those things are fine! I am just trying to erase any pressure for More Joy Day. I find that half of the happiness of the experience for me comes from being open to small opportunities to make the joy-filled choice in an otherwise ordinary day. Even driving can become fun again when I'm looking for chances to let someone in.
Anyway, some ideas:
- Send someone flowers
- Plant a flower in someone's honor and send them (or a loved one of theirs) a picture and a note
- Buy someone a cup of coffee
- Compliment someone at work/school/the store/the bus stop, etc
- Leave a kind word for someone randomly in their journal
- Post a picture of something that makes you happy
- Let someone cut in front of you in line
- Say hello to someone you would normally walk past
- Act like a fool for a small child (they love that!)
- Compliment a parent on their child (we love that! *g*)
- Play a happy song on a community stereo
- Write a thank you note for your mailperson or someone else that you normally never thank
- Call someone you love just to say hello
- Bake a delicious treat and take it to a senior center
- Squee about someone's favorite show/character/OTP in their journal, especially if it's a long-gone show
So those are just a handful of ideas to put into use. I know there are many more that y'all could think of, given how creative you are! I look forward to sharing the joy with you on January 12, 2012.
This entry was cross-posted at my Dreamwidth account. Please comment here or there. (
comments at DW)
I also want to emphasize that the whole point of More Joy Day is to do one small thing that will make someone else feel better, with the hope that they'll then go on with their day in a much more positive manner and maybe spread that to someone else, and them to someone else, and so on, making a long link of small, joyful acts that would not otherwise exist. It's not to make the most impressive fandom-related thing or spend a ton of money or even have to do more than one act - though all of those things are fine! I am just trying to erase any pressure for More Joy Day. I find that half of the happiness of the experience for me comes from being open to small opportunities to make the joy-filled choice in an otherwise ordinary day. Even driving can become fun again when I'm looking for chances to let someone in.
Anyway, some ideas:
- Send someone flowers
- Plant a flower in someone's honor and send them (or a loved one of theirs) a picture and a note
- Buy someone a cup of coffee
- Compliment someone at work/school/the store/the bus stop, etc
- Leave a kind word for someone randomly in their journal
- Post a picture of something that makes you happy
- Let someone cut in front of you in line
- Say hello to someone you would normally walk past
- Act like a fool for a small child (they love that!)
- Compliment a parent on their child (we love that! *g*)
- Play a happy song on a community stereo
- Write a thank you note for your mailperson or someone else that you normally never thank
- Call someone you love just to say hello
- Bake a delicious treat and take it to a senior center
- Squee about someone's favorite show/character/OTP in their journal, especially if it's a long-gone show
So those are just a handful of ideas to put into use. I know there are many more that y'all could think of, given how creative you are! I look forward to sharing the joy with you on January 12, 2012.
This entry was cross-posted at my Dreamwidth account. Please comment here or there. (
comments at DW)