This month the beach towels and fun in the sun gear will be stashed away til June in order to clear the way for a brand-new academic year. Even if you don't have children in the house, flipping the calendar page over to the month of September marks the beginning of a new season. If you do have children still at home, the first weeks of September can be quite hectic and difficult as you and the other members of your family adjust to a new morning schedule, demands of homework and extracurricular activities. It is likely that over the course of the coming weeks and months you will be revisiting some distant memories of long division, algebraic equations or verb conjugations as you help your child master new academic skills and tasks this year.
When I close my eyes, I can still picture the repeating border of ABCs in capital, small letter and cursive form which wrapped around my second grade classroom like a stationary Wall Street ticker tape. I remember tracing the more complicated letters like cursive little "k" and cursive capital "Z." in the air with my finger before committing my No. 2 pencil to paper. Many people probably learned the alphabet like this: "A is for apple...B is for ball...C is for cat... Z is for zebra." And you can probably sing the "ABC song" in your sleep by now and maybe even in another language or two. A few weeks while poking about a little gift shop, I spotted a large, engraved marble plaque tucked away on a shelf. As I took a closer look at what was engraved on the plaque, along with the ABCs, I immediately realized that the uplifting message was perfect for this entry.
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Accept Differences
Be Kind
Count Your Blessings
Dream
Express Thanks
Forgive
Give Freely
Harm No One
Imagine More
Jettison Anger
Keep Confidences
Love Truly
Master Something
Nurture Hope
Open Your Mind
Pack Lightly
Quell Rumors
Reciprocate
Seek Wisdom
Touch Hearts
Understand
Value Truth
Win Graciously
Xeriscape
Yearn for Peace
Zealously Support a Worthy Cause
--Anonymous
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The message of the new (and improved) ABCs is one that each of us can aspire to implement and make a part of our everyday experience. The new ABCs encourages us to become more of some things and less of others. More loving, accepting, and tolerant of ourselves and others and less bitter, unforgiving and self-absorbed. The new and improved ABCs encourage each of us to be more empathic, altruistic and compassionate to those around us.
Acts of kindness and generosity enhance our levels of psychological and physical health. When one is willing to put their own concerns away for a while in order to help another, the result is decreased loneliness, enhanced self-esteem and self-worth for all. Research has shown that altruistic people live longer and healthier lives. In one study that followed 400 women for 30 years, researchers found that 52% of those who did not engage in volunteer work experienced a major illness--compared with only 36% of those who did volunteer. Another large study found a 44% reduction in early death among those who volunteered--a greater effect that exercising four times a week (cite, Heart Math Institute). University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research found that older people who are helpful to others reduce their risk of dying by nearly 60% compared to peers who provide neither practical health nor emotional support to relatives, neighbors or friends. Using MRI scans, scientists have identified specific regions of the brain that are active during deeply and compassionate emotions. Neurochemicals also enter into the picture of what happens to tbe brain when we engage in altruistic actions. A recebt study has identified high levels of the hormone oxytocin in people who are very charitable toward others. When you are altruistic, lending a helping hand, your oxytocin level goes up, which helps to relieve stress. Additionally, such behavior also may trigger the brain's reward circuitry--the feel-good chemicals of dopamine and endorphins, are released.
So this is the month to put into practice the new ABCs--not only will it improve your relationships with others but it will likely improve your mental and physical health as well!
(This entry is excerpted from my monthly ezine: Envision Your Dreams. If you would like to subscribe, please visit my website.)
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