Antidote For A Bad Mood

For years people outside the Church scoffed at the Word of Wisdom, and then suddenly science began to prove that all sorts of life threatening health problems were directly related to things that the Word of Wisdom prohibited.

The same thing is now happening with other aspects of the gospel. For example, recent research has shown that performing a kind act (service) produces the most reliable increase in immediate well-being of any exercise that has ever been tested.

In his new book Flourish, the noted positive psychologist, Martin E. P. Seligman, tells of a time after an increase in the price of postage stamps when he spent forty-five minutes frustratingly waiting in a long line to buy one-cent stamps. When he finally arrived at the sales counter instead of buying only what he needed, he bought ten dollars’ worth of one-cent stamps and turned around and gave them to the people waiting in line. “It was one of the most satisfying moments of my life,” he explains.

He then makes a challenge that I pass on to you: Find one wholly unexpected kindness to do today and just do it. (Be sure to take note of what it does to your mood!)

Happiness How To

Sonja Lyubormirsky, who is a leading researcher in the field of happiness, did a study that showed that people who complete five acts of kindness in a given day were happier than people who did not consciously try to perform acts of kindness that day. The most interesting thing, however, is that the group that did the five acts of kindness were happier not only that day, but the good feelings lasted for several days after the experiment was over.

To a good Christian this seems like a given.It's nice that research is substantiating what we already intuitively know. After all, doing acts of kindness is what the gospel is all about, but sometimes our lives get so busy and so scheduled that we need to remind ourselves of how important it is to look for ways and then minister kindnes. As we then renew our efforts to do good things for others we make them happy, but we also make ourselves happy.

Little Things

I think I must have been born with the desire to be a writer. One of my earliest memories is of watching my father read and wishing with a longing so real it knotted my stomach that I could read because I knew I had to learn to read before I could write. Because of that desire, I learned to read before I went to school and as soon as I had a few “Dick and Jane” words at my written command, I began writing, illustrating, collating, and stapling together my own books and going door to door selling them. Most people said, “No, thank you.” But there were two older ladies on the street who would buy my books.

Aunt Nora, as we called her, would reach in her apron pocket and bring out a nickel for my book. Mrs. Torrey, up the street a ways, would tell me that she would love so much to buy my book but she just didn’t have any money. But she was so sincere and complimentary that I would give her the book which she always read and raved about.

I only wish these two beautiful women were still alive so I could tell them how very, very much their kind gesture has meant to me. Writing is hard. Selling what you write is even harder. Before I sold my first short story, I think I had enough rejection slips to completely cover every wall in my den. That amount of rejection is daunting to say the least. But as each rejection letter arrived, I’d remember Mrs. Torrey and Aunt Nora’s faces and their kind words and their enthusiasm over my “great talent” and I’d keep on trying.

I’m sure they didn’t even think about what they had done after I left. But to me their kindness partially shaped my life. It’s made me think a lot about the little things we do and how they can touch someone else without us even knowing.

I just hope I can be an Aunt Nora or a Mrs. Torrey in someone else’s life.