Category: Generosity & Kindness

Today, I received two cotton swabs in the mail. No, it’s not a reminder to clean my ears, but part of my Be The Match kit, which will add me to the thousands of other people who are already on the bone marrow donor registry. From their website: “For the thousands of people diagnosed every year with life-threatening blood cancers like leukemia and lymphoma, a cure exists. Over the past 30 years Be The Match®, operated by the National Marrow Donor Program® (NMDP), has managed the largest and most diverse marrow registry in the world. We work every day to save lives through transplant.” You might be asking why I decided to become a bone marrow donor at 44 years old. It’s simple really. My life is insanely blessed. Even with…

“As long as we remain vigilant at building our internal abundance—an abundance of integrity, an abundance of forgiveness, an abundance of service, an abundance of love—then external lack is bound to be temporary.”  ― Marianne Williamson, Everyday Grace: Having Hope, Finding Forgiveness And Making Miracles This weekend, I set aside a few hours for the unenviable task of organizing my garage. One would think it’s an occasional task – perhaps yearly or even every other. But in my house, it seems to happen with a great deal of regularity as one project leads into another and time seems to constrict one’s ability to leave things as orderly as they were before. I experience the same pattern of behavior in my basement as well – oftentimes leading to a full-on cleaning spree one…

“It only takes a split second to smile and forget, yet to someone that needed it, it can last a lifetime.” ― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free Call me cynical, but the older I get the more I understand (through experience) that few of the individuals we’ll encounter during our lifetime are helpers. For many of us, the word “helpers” triggers visions of those donating their time to homeless shelters or even nursing homes. But it’s important to remember that helpers come in many shapes and sizes. Here’s an example. Today, I had to return a few items I recently purchased at a local home improvement store. When I approached the returns desk, I immediately noticed that a woman who appeared to be in her 50s was manning the register…

This past weekend, I had the great pleasure to experience Broadway legend Betty Buckley as Dolly Levi in the national touring production of Hello, Dolly! in Denver. During my senior year in high school, I participated in the hilarious comedy farce The Matchmaker by Thornton Wilder. The Matchmaker eventually inspired the Hello, Dolly! musical, so I already had some familiarity with the characters and the overall premise of the show. However, what I didn’t remember was a thought-provoking quote by Dolly Levi herself delivered in the second act. “Money, pardon the expression, is like manure. It's not worth a thing unless it's spread around, encouraging young things to grow.” I’m not sure I’d ever compare anything in life to animal dung used as fertilizer, but it certainly does get the point…

“Only those who have learned the power of sincere and selfless contribution experience life's deepest joy: true fulfillment.” - Anthony Robbins What was the last truly selfless act you offered to another person? While you’re sitting there scratching your head trying to come up with one, here’s a refresher of what “selfless” actually means. To be selfless means, “having little or no concern for oneself, especially with regard to fame, position, money, etc.” But that’s not the society I know. We’re selfish with our time, our money, our blessings, our emotions, you name it. That self-serving behavior doesn’t allow much opportunity for bestowing good on anyone else but ourselves. How sad is that? For those of you still thinking about the last time you were truly selfless, here’s a real-world…