Many of us can agree that 2020 has had it’s share of junk! It has played havoc on our minds, our souls, our relationships, our lives in general! I follow Rachel Martin of Finding Joy…her words are often EXACTLY what I have been thinking! I love how she acknowledges the hard and accentuates the good! She just uses her words in such a way that changes my world often times. Look her up! Tonight…I have my own words.
This year has amped up my anxiety level. I’m often looking over my shoulder to make sure I am doing things right, that I am pleasing the next person. I second guess EVERYTHING I do…from getting too close to my preschoolers to getting out of bed! EVERYTHING! It’s SO CRAZY! This year I have had to really think about what I believe in, what hill I am going to die on (so to speak) and how my actions affect others! Talk about anxiety! UGH!
However, I want to speak of today’s events…these are events that, as I watch them unfold, I see the ripple affect in action. Today, I was a part of something bigger than me, I was a part of spreading joy, one ripple at a time! AND I LOVE EVERY MINUTE OF IT! Here’s a recap!
I have a dear friend who loves scavenger hunts. The stone was dropped, so to speak, and the ripple began! When the Covid quarantine hit and we were all going crazy staying at home, she came up with the idea to do a socially distant scavenger hunt of the southern part of our county! The idea was to explore the county, get out of the house and to hopefully, have a great time. She recruited myself and another friend to help and the game was on! We did the first Scavenger hunt and everyone had a blast! Families were together in a fun way, out of the house and exploring the county. And of course, it always ended at an ice cream store! The first one was so wonderful, along came the idea to do Scavenger hunt #2 in the northern part of the county! More people participated, different people participated…the ripple grew bigger! We even added another friend to the team! We each had our jobs…I did the publicity, one friend did the graphics, the other 2 did the clues. We spread joy and happiness in this world one clue at a time.
Well, I happened to notice that May 24, 2020 was National Scavenger Hunt Day! Well, if it has a national day, we MUST participate in it! So we did…Scavenger Hunt #3 was created! Again, some new teams and some of the same teams participated. We even had t-shirts made! And again…we ended at the ice cream store! We were socially distanced, safe, filling out tummies with some yummy ice cream and filling our hearts with great memories.
The summer came and went and it grew colder. Harvest wrapped up and not much had changed with the virus situation except that people are going a bit stir crazy! It hurts my heart so much to see how people tear others down over a belief. My friend thought it was time to have another hunt! It’s the time of year that people are busy and weary and frustrated with situations. Something like this could help relieve some stress! So, the Holiday Hunt (Scavenger Hunt #4) fell into place with all of it’s clues, excited teams and this time, cookies instead of ice cream!
Today after the hunt, I really listened to people, to what they had to say about the hunt. Friends, what I heard wasn’t about the hunt…I heard about laughter, discussions and even a few arguments. I heard about family members and teams coming from out of our county to do participate and create memories of fun and laughter. I heard about SO MUCH LAUGHTER today! My anxious heart needed to hear the laughter, to see the fun photos of families/teams at each stop. My anxious heart was affected by the action of one person back in April that has rippled to now! Often, people don’t know what others are going through…anxiety, loss, isolation…the list can go on. One person’s kind word or deed can CHANGE the world! YOU can change the world…one small act at a time!
I will wrap this up…it’s getting late and I am really wordy! My thoughts are this…be kind! It doesn’t have to cost anything. Smile at a person, say please and thank you, hold a door, let someone in line ahead of you, NOTICE THOSE AROUND YOU! In this masked world of staying safe…many people feel like they aren’t even noticed. It’s so easy to hide behind the mask! If you are able…pay for the person behind you or leave a little bigger tip. FRIENDS…YOU are the change in the world. Covid or not…your one small action or word affects someone else…that may affect someone else…that may affect someone else! The ripple affect at it’s finest!
Have a great night. I hope this makes some type of sense…I have so many thoughts on this!
sonyalovesmith 