In the month of Valentine’s Day, we should look beyond the simple visage of our nearest human or canine being and take the good will and enchantment to each one’s community. Here are 20 ways to express that without smearing chocolates and flowers on the sidewalk.
1. Donate blood and platelets there is a shortage right now
2. Pick up a single piece of trash from the street everyday
3. Randomly buy the person behind you a cup of coffee/tea
4. Greet people on the street with Good Morning/Afternoon or Evening (Get it right so as not confuse them)
5. Look at something that your city has improved on and send a note to the city staff
6. Actually come to a FULL stop at a Stop Sign
7. Smile at pedestrians as they cross in front of you
8. Think about a civic volunteer opportunity that you can and would do and then do it
9. Greet a homeless person and look at them with compassion
10. SLOW down, see if you can drive the speed limit as posted or 25 mph in residential areas
11. Take a walk around the block and if you see a neighbor that you do not know, introduce yourself
12. Give cookies to your immediate neighbor
13. Look around your house for books you are not going to reread and donate them to either the library or those little libraries that residents put outside their homes
14. Visit a park you do not normally go to and strike up a conversation with a stranger
15. Leave an extra-large tip at a restaurant or even a shop that has a tip jar
16. Visit a place in the city that you have not been to in a long time that made you smile and share the story with a stranger there.
17. Make a list of three things you can do to make things better and then do one each week
18. Look around at the names of the streets or neighborhoods and find out why or how that happened.
19. Read a pamphlet on the history of your city
20. Look at a plaque on a statue or a building and stop and read it.
