Ways to Wink

This site is about sharing and celebrating the Winks of Goodness we experience every day, but I also hope that it inspires you be a little more kind, a little more caring and a lot more empathetic to people you know and don’t know in this world.

We’re all busy and stressed, and if you’re like me, you say that so much that it doesn’t really mean anything. We all have things that we have to do, and we’re all concerned about getting them done, but we also have a long list of things we want to do. I’m not talking about bucket list trips and concerts. I’m talking about daily tasks we’d love to work into our schedules but let fall by the wayside, knocked out of contention by trips to the grocery store and mowing the lawn.

All of us have good things we think about and/or want to do for other people but never seem to get around to. Here’s my challenge to you — make a little sliver of time. Aim for one good thing a month, and when you get used to that, change it to one good thing a week and then a day. You’ll be surprised at how sharing a Wink of Goodness can become habit. And the more you send winks out into this world, the more you’ll notice them in your own life.

If you need some inspiration, check out the suggestions below to help you get your wink on.

• Open the door for someone.

• Send a card (the ones that come in paper envelopes and often require stamps) to someone you haven’t been in contact with for a while.

• Give someone flowers, even better if they come from your yard or garden.

• Share your umbrella.

• Give a stranger a compliment.

• Let someone in front of you in line.

• If someone is carrying a heavy load, offer to help (mentally or physically, whichever the case may be).

• Buy a friend or stranger a coffee.

• Text someone a happy greeting when they least expect it.

• Listen to someone’s story.

• Follow up on someone’s story.

• Pick up trash.

• Let someone into your lane.

• Wave “thank you” when someone lets you into their lane.

• Use your manners. “Please” and “thank you” aren’t just for children.

• Talk with old people, really talk.

• Share books with friends.

• Bake a treat for someone.

• Read to a child who doesn’t know how but should.