Yield

You’re driving down the street when suddenly you see a flashing light behind you and you hear a siren. What should you do? Apparently, some folks think to correct answer is step on the gas and try to beat the emergency vehicle, as you proceed on down the street. WRONG!

Let’s take just a moment to remember what it is that emergency vehicles do. An ambulance transports sick or injured people to hospitals and medical centers. More often than not, when an ambulance is involved, the patient is in urgent need of care and every minute counts. Fire trucks sometimes respond to medical calls and various random emergencies, but most of the time they are headed to fires, where once again, every minute counts. Police may be responding to any number of calls – a hostage situation for example, or a murder, robbery, or rape. Again, time is of the essence.

The flashing lights and sirens were developed to signal people that this is a vehicle that needs priority treatment. Please yield. Of course one very good reason for doing so is that it is the law, and a heavy fine can hit you for not yielding. The better reason though is that it is simply the right thing to do. Would you like someone to die because you blocked an ambulance? Would you like someone to lose their house because you didn’t let the fire truck through?

You can make all the difference in the world with just a bit of road courtesy. Yield to the first sound of a siren!

The list just keeps on growing

The list of ways to make a difference is endless.  From time to time I have shared some thoughts here.  Today I have some more!

 

Open the door for another person. Give blood. Bring flowers to work and share them with coworkers. Pay for the meal of the person behind you in the drive-through. As you go about your day, pick up trash. Call or visit a homebound person. Pay a compliment at least once a day. Leave a treat or handmade note of thanks for a delivery person or mail carrier.

 

Leave an extra-large tip for the waitperson (if you can afford to). Tell a bus or taxi driver how much you appreciate their driving. Give the gift of your smile. Draw names at work/school and have people bring a small gift or treat for their secret pal. Sponsor people in fundraising walk-a-thons.

 

The gift of sharing can be awesome too, so please do share your own ideas!  You can do it below in the comments section!

all smiles

Did you ever notice that a smile isn't just the position of your mouth? When most of us smile, we use our whole face. We smile with our eyes, even if they aren't wide open. When I see someone smile, it makes me happy. How about you?  Do smiles brighten your day?

When I see someone who isn't smiling, I try all the harder. I smile every single day. Why? Because it really is contagious. You'd be amazed at how many smiles will show up as a result of yours!

Oh, one more thing about smiles too.  I will never suggest we be cold and uncaring about someone's bad moments. People you encounter might be going through financial or health difficulties or may have just been touched by the death of a loved one. These days are certainly more difficult than ever before, but there is still reason to smile.  There are many reasons why someone's smile might disappear, but we can still smile with a loving and caring smile.  Let the world you encompass shine!

Please donate

The cashier at the corner store has a jar on the counter collecting for a local charity. The restaurant where you eat breakfast every day has a similar container. On top of that, folks (like me) are always asking for you to buy chocolate bars for a school project or to sponsor them in a fundraising walk-a-thon. Please DONATE! There is just no escaping it!

Sometimes it may seem like a pain in the butt, but money raised really makes a difference. Some projects and programs are funded solely by contributions. It actually feels good to know that you are being of help too.

Is it always possible to give? For most of us, the answer is no. Money does not grow on trees, and most of us have a limit to how much we can spend. (Of course, as we have talked about here in the past, there are other ways of giving too, like our time and our talent, but that's another matter).

If you really want to have funds to help others, there are a number of things you can do. The coins you get back as change from purchases, you might always set aside to donate. That afternoon cappuccino can be skipped occasionally and the money put to another use. You might do little fundraisers of your own, with your plan to give the proceeds to your favorite causes. Perhaps a bake sale or rummage sale. Got a bigger tax refund than you expected? Think about donating that unexpected money.

There are many ways to make a difference in this world, and donating is certainly one of them.

Celebrating nurses

In 1953, Dorothy Sutherland of the US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare proposed Nurses Day to President Eisenhower.  That was the first attempt to nationally recognize nurses.  Eisenhower did nothing.  President Richard Nixon finally did something in 1974 when he declared a week in February as National Nurse Week.  In 1990, the American Nurses Association began the current National Nurses Week celebrated from May 6th to May 12th.  Those dates were chosen because Florence Nightingale's birthday was May12.  

 

Now you know why I am writing about nurses today.  You actually only know one reason.  I have always had a great respect for those in nursing and really should write about them more often.  My mother was a nurse.  She was in the very first class of a school in Oneonta, NY and I can still recall her pride at her capping ceremony and all the hard work and dedication that she showed over the years at the many places she worked.

 

When Mom lay dying in a hospital back in 2013, I was again reminded of what angels nurses are.  While there were many wonderful professionals, there was one man in particular whom I will never forget.  He introduced himself to Mom the night she was admitted and then asked her what she wanted to be called.  That really touched her.  Someone cared enough to ask instead of just using her first name or calling her Mrs. - this guy asked.  It wasn't the only time he made an impression.  Just a few days later when her breathing had become difficult and she was in obvious distress, he was working in a different ward, but on my way to get her nurse for that day, I ran into him in the hall.  I was visibly upset and when I told him what was wrong, he turned and came immediately to her room telling me not to worry.  He stayed there with her for the next hour on what I later learned was his own time (he had gotten off just before I ran into him).

 

There are wonderful nurses who make a difference every day.  They take pride in their work and they care about their patients.  Let them know they are appreciated!

Happy Birthday Keith Haring

Back in 2014, when the Rainbow Honor Walk was dedicated in San Francisco, I had the great privilege of joining with a friend to unveil the plaque in honor of Keith Allen Haring, an incredible artist whom I have always admired.

Keith Haring's life was way too short. Today he would have turned 66. Hard to believe. Keith passed away from AIDS-related complications in 1990, but his legacy lives on not only through his art but through the work of the Keith Haring Foundation, which makes grants that support a wide array of not-for-profit organizations. He lived for only 31 years, but his art and social activism will live forever, because he was not afraid to be seen. He did not live his life in secret, but he boldly let the world see him, and in doing so let the world see his brilliant work. One of his creations became a logo for National Coming Out Day because he was truly a logo in the way he lived, and that should inspire us all to lead an uncloseted life.

The next time I am in the middle of Castro Street in San Francisco (between 18th and 19th Streets) and see Keith Haring looking up at me, I'm going to meditate on his own words: "Art will never leave me and never should. So as I go into the next part of the trip I hope it will be more creative and more work involved and less talk and more doing, seeing, learning, being, loving, feeling, maybe less feeling, and just work my ass off, ’cause that, my friend, is where it’s at!"