The Goderich Signal-Star, 2009-01-07, Page 30Page A28 - Goderich Signal -Star, Wednesday, January 7, 2009
t
•
Please support the
Atom AE Hockey Team
by going to Boston Pizza on
Wednesday,
January 14th
from 6 - 8 p.m.
and let them be your
"celebrity server"!
AFORDAB!.E, 1011011USIOIPUIL HAIRCARE. OUA1*N IED
Hours: Mon. - Fri. 9-9 Sat. 9-6
HWY#8, HURON ROAD 524-1673
CREAMY MUSHROOM
BACON CARBONARA
PASTA
Includes soup or salad.... ONLY
$17"
Anytime is a good time to enjoy our...
FAMOUS PIZZA OR PANZEROTTI
now with whole wheat or regular crust
EAT -IN or Take -Out 7 days a week!
WICKED EJVTERTAINMENT
Fri. Jan. 9th - The Acoustic Stylings
of Lance Bedard
Sat. Jan. 10th - Karaoke Night
,'ri. Jan. 16th - Sweetness of Two
1s Always Come And Have A "WICKED" breakfast!
• Check out our MENU
at www.wickedwillys.ca •
42 WEST STREET, GODERICH
524.7777
•
nte
rtainment
Deadlines: Friday @ 4 p.m.
Holiday Weekends Friday @ 10 a.m.
Finding joy in doing small things
wwwgoderichsignalstar. com
It is funny — the things that bring
us happiness.
Sometimes we imagine that hap-
piness comes from receiving gifts,
winning the lottery, or getting the
job promotion. Maybe it is the
thought of losing weight or quit-
ting smoking. Or maybe it is
achieving some other milestone
that we have been looking forward
to.
But these things are all in the
future. If we want to be happy
right now, the easiest way is by
doing something nice for someone
right now without getting paid
back for it.
Here's a funny experiment that
you can try: Go to the Tim Horton's
drive-thru. Buy your coffee and
then give the drive-thru person an
extra $5 to help go towards the
guy's order in the truck behind
you. Or give them $20 and let that
pay for as many people behind you
as possible.
• The experiment starts as soon as
you drive away from the window,
because a strange smile will come
across your face. It's the funniest
thing. You start imagining the
look on the guy's face behind you
as he is told from the window
"Well, actually your coffee is
already paid for, sir". You laugh a
little and your smile widens. Then
you imagine the person at the
drive-thru window explaining to
people why their coffee and donuts
are paid for — "Well, there was this
person... I don't know who•..But
here you go..."
The question for the
experiment is — How
long does your smile
last? How long does
that little act stay
with you buoying
up your spirit and
giving you a little
giggle inside?
And it's even
stronger if you
don't tell any-
one. If •you tell
someone, then
the magic is
gone. But if you
keep it to yourself,
it's like being in an
IBM think-tank
with sexy, pink lace
underwear on. No
one else knows your
little secret and the more you think
about it, the more entertaining it
is!!
And soon, you will want to do it
again!! It becomes like a healthy
drug!! You will find yourself
looking for other opportunities to
do other .things for people. It can
be as simple as shovelling your
neighbour's walk or helping some-
one unload their groceries.
The movie Pay it Forward was
about a young boy who had a
school assignment. He had to fig-
ure out 'what he could do to really
make a positive change in the
world. His solution was to go out
and do something nice for four
people. The catch was that they
couldn't pay him back. They had
to "pay it forward" — they
had to go out and do
something nice for
someone else.
Just think of what
this would do for us
in our lives. We
would find our-
selves looking for
nice things to do
for people. We
wouldn't be
focusing on all of
the rotten things
going on around
us. We would stop
worrying about
politics, stress, and
all of the things in
our lives that get us
down. We would start
seeing opportunities all
of .the time. With what result?
That silly smile appearing on our
faces more and more often.
And what about the other per-
son? Well, if my French vanilla
cappuccino was suddenly paid for
by an. anonymous stranger, my
thoughts would turn to doing the
same thing for someone else. And
the ripple effect would continue.
Or maybe that isn't what I would
think. Maybe I was going through
a tough time. But maybe, that is
just what I needed. Maybe T
needed a reason to believe in the
goodness of people on that day.
The hardest thing about difficult
times is that they can often suck
any hope that we have for the
world. We can start to think that
there truly is no hope — that people
are just mean, life is unfair and it
just doesn't matter what we do.
Ifs one kind gesture can help
someone even the smallest bit,
then that is the greatest thing that
we can do. Small things add up
and the ripple effect spreads.
In the time of New Year's reso-
lutions, adding "random acts of
kindness" to our lists might just be
the easiest and most enjoyable
resolution that we ever tried to
keep.
Katrina Bos is a freelance writer
and yoga instructor living near
Auburn. www.katrinabos.ca
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