5/31/07

Exercise caution when dispensing advice; remember the words of Samuel Taylor Coleridge: "Advice is like snow - the softer it falls, the longer it dwells upon, and the deeper it sinks into the mind."

And have a nice day.

(But only if you feel like it.)

5/25/07

Indulge yourself a little. You more than deserve it. Go ahead. If you want to do it -- as long as it's legal and won't hurt anybody, including yourself -- do it.

5/24/07

Just one today:

Hugs are good for you, both physiologically and emotionally. Hug more. That's it.

5/23/07

1. Draw or paint a self-portrait. Do one today, and do another one every week for as long as you can. It will be fun and educational. Watch how they change from week to week!
2. Choose a short poem you love and commit it to memory.
3. At the very least, find a home in your mind for this old Japanese proverb about perseverance: "Fall seven times, stand up eight."

5/22/07

1. Do something good for somebody else. It's important to take care of ourselves. It's just as important to help other people who truly need our support. Look around your community; you're certain to find someone who would benefit from your assistance. Act on it.
2. "Try on" a different viewpoint. If you lean to the left, try understanding where those "heartless" right-wingers are coming from. If you're against abortion, try looking at the same issue from the "godless" pro-choice point of view. I'm not suggesting you alter your core beliefs; I'm just hoping you'll see that there are almost always several valid perspectives on any topic.
3. Invent a "secret origin" for yourself -- like the kind comic book superheroes have. From what distant realm did you come? What special powers do you have, and how did you get them? And most importantly...what does your costume look like?

5/21/07

Learn to say, “Yes, and…”

The basis of all good improvisational acting is a simple game called “Yes, and…” The idea is simple: One actor says or does something, and a second actor builds on it. She does this by acknowledging the first actor’s “offer,” then adding a little something of her own. The exchange then continues: The first actor accepts the second’s offer and adds an idea of his own, and on it goes.

During this seemingly simple process, an amazing thing happens: As if out of thin air, a story is born. It thrives as long as the actors continue to accept each other’s offers. The moment “Yes, and…” becomes “No,” or even “Yes, but…,” the story begins to die.

We are all in the process of writing our own life stories. If yours seems derailed, perhaps it’s because you’ve been saying “No” or “Yes, but…” when you should be saying “Yes, and…”

(If you want to learn more about improv, there’s one book you must read: Impro: Improvisation and the Theatre by Keith Johnstone.)

5/18/07

Again today, just one suggestion:

I had a dream last night, in which one of the characters did something I believe is worth sharing: Every evening before going to bed, he spent a few minutes summarizing what he had experienced that day. He spoke this nightly review into a digital recorder, but I suppose it could just as effectively be done on paper, or aloud, or in one's mind.

I am aware that lots of people already do something similar, often in the form of a journal. If you're one of them, great. If not, give the "nightly review" a try. I will, too.

Two dangers come to mind. One is that while doing this mental recap, one is not quite fully in the moment. My suggested solution: Keep it short. The other hazard -- a far greater one, in my estimation -- is the potential for judgment and blame and shame. To avoid this, try sticking to a dispassionate recall of the day's events -- not a laundry list of "how I screwed up," but a simple, straightforward accounting of what went on.

5/17/07

Just one today:

Learn to love gloomy days. They contain so much subtle beauty, it almost aches to look at them. But that's the thing: We don't look at them. We just try to last through them, hoping for the next sunny day. I have a better idea: Next time you encounter a gloomy day (where I live, today is one), enjoy it -- drink in all its blue-green Ektachrome magnificence. Thank the universe for gloomy days. And sunny days. And in-between days. And all days.

5/16/07

1. Think of somebody who you believe has slighted you in some way in the past. Check with yourself to see if you've forgiven him or her. If you haven't, maybe now would be a good time.
2. Relax your shoulders. Then your arms. Then your hands, all the way to the tips of your fingers. Doesn't that feel good? Now relax the whole rest of your body, little by little, from your toes up to the top of your head. Ahhhhhhhhhh.
3. Plant something. Do whatever is necessary to keep it growing.

5/15/07

1. Get yourself outside and run around like a little kid. If you already are a little kid, run around like yourself.
2. Consider the sun; if it were to blink out of existence, we'd follow suit a few blinks later. Given this, maybe you should come up with some kind of ritual, object, or song in appreciation of all the good Old Sol does for us.
3. Speaking of the sun, get out there and bask in its rays as soon as possible. (Don't forget the sunscreen.)

5/14/07

1. Spend a few minutes thinking about the future.
2. Spend the majority of your day in the present. And whatever you do, stay out of the past. You've got no business there. (And besides, there is no such thing.)
3. Get as far away from your computer as possible. I'm serious: Let this be the last thing you do on the computer today.

5/11/07

1. Be extra nice to all the moms you encounter this weekend.
2. Be extra nice to yourself, too. Enough with the judging. Relax and enjoy!
3. Start a Crappy Band! What, you ask, is a Crappy Band? Read all about it here:

http://crappybandmanifesto.blogspot.com/

5/10/07

Check out these worthwhile things:

1. http://www.standingwomen.org/

2. http://www.wholewheatradio.org/

3. http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/

5/9/07

1. Find some time to do some people-watching today. Malls and parks are perfect places for this. If you're really twisted, you might want to try the local DMV.
2. Make a gift for someone. Not "buy," not "rummage around in your re-gifting closet," but make. Don't wait for a birthday or other occasion. Do it now.
3. Choose a well-known person from the past or present -- someone you really admire -- and read his or her biography.

5/8/07

1. Learn more about reflexology.
2. Whatever you eat, feel good about it while you're eating it. The impact of eating a double cheeseburger with a mountain of fries and a huge soda is bad enough without piling on a bunch of shame and guilt.
3. Wherever you go today, look for art in unexpected locations. It can be found in the random arrangement of trash on a curb, or sounds blending on a subway, or wherever you're receptive to it.

5/7/07

1. Say what you want to say.
2. Do what you want to do.
3. Be what you want to be.

5/4/07

threethingstodo will return on Monday, May 7th. Have a great weekend!

5/3/07

1. Get a cheap set of watercolors and some watercolor paper. Then, get outside and paint something.
2. Whatever it is you decide to paint, write a few lines of verse about it.
3. Do anything you want with your new paintings and poems (other than to judge them).

5/2/07

1. Take pleasure in the ordinary. Tune in to how amazing it is to be able to grasp an empty glass in your hand, fill it with water, hold it up to the sun, then bring it to your lips and drink from it. Incredible -- and yet, we take such things for granted. Today, try to find the "amazing" hiding inside the everyday.

2. Read a book -- not because you have to, or because it's a popular title, or for any other reason than that you feel like reading that book.

3. Write an anonymous note to an anonymous recipient. Leave it in a place where it is likely to be found and read.

5/1/07

Today, consider these thoughts on the topic of peace:

Peace is not something you wish for; it's something you make, something you do, something you are, something you give away. - Robert Fulghum

There never was a good war, or a bad peace. - Benjamin Franklin

Peace cannot be achieved through violence, it can only be attained through understanding. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other. - Mother Teresa