How to Get a New Feel-Good High!

(A whole new way to get an instant 'feel good high'!)

We live in a society with a whole lot of feel-good go-to's. And I will admit that I've tried and enjoyed many of them, fortunately or unfortunately, over the decades. But I think I found a new one – only this one adds no extra calories, isn't bad for your liver, actually promotes brain and heart health, and is pretty inexpensive!...

It's KINDNESS.

It was crazy good karma that I was introduced to The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation by a good friend. Their mission of making kindness the norm in everyday life just lit me up like fireworks! An entire sister organization trying to do the same thing as little ol’ Thru Glenn’s Lens. I devoured their site and found SO MUCH...

Personally, I’ve always tried to do nice, simple little things to make someone smile for no good reason. (Glenn used to tease me, "You'll talk to a fire hydrant!") But it just makes me happy.

Since Glenn "relocated" to Heaven in December 2023 – not just my husband, but BFF and entire WORLD – that need to connect positively with people has been amplified! When I realized how grateful I was for the little things that people had said or done for me In my life since he passed, well, it made me driven to pay It forward.

You see, both the intent and the end results of all that Thru Glenn’s Lens is trying to do, are the exact same as The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation – just in card, small gift (and scholarship!) form. To make connections, to bring comfort or smiles – when someone is hurting, doubting, happy, or any of the other gazillion things we all feel trying to navigate this crazy, unpredictable, often unfair, thing called LIFE.

It’s part of why I started Thru Glenn’s Lens. To make it easier to be kind. To make it more beautiful to write a personal note. To help you say the things you might not know to say when someone is grieving. And a whole lot more. Not to mention, to make it just a little easier for a young aspiring visual artist to face those staggering college bills each year, with our Glenn W. Hoffman Innovation & Creativity Scholarship.

So, I'm excited to call out some of my favorites here, from the dozens of kindness ideas on The Random Acts of Kindness site – favorites because Thru Glenn’s Lens can actually make doing them even easier... and I just love that! Things like...

One of my all-time fav cards we've created is perfect for servers of all kinds. Tells them that their hard work is noted, and that you “Give a Buck” that they feel appreciated! (The $financial reward is on you!)

We’re usually OK celebrating the big stuff in our relationships – especially the romantic ones. But friendships often get overlooked. Those valuable peeps that we all turn to when the romantic ones piss us off or leave us with questions! I have been blessed with SO MANY beautiful, authentic and caring FRIENDS who have been there for me through my new journey with Widowhood. This is just one of our Collections dedicated to them! (And they know who they are, because I tell them how special they are all the time!)

One of the very first places I began our card development was with the ones for people experiencing a loss of life. These Collections can provide so much authentic comfort and understanding to those trying to navigate the brutality of losing someone special, and for so little effort on your part. Please consider sending them? ...

Thank You Notes are an old-school art that, IMHO, should be resurrected! So “Thank You, Gen Z” – as they seem to be embracing a “renaissance” of handwritten cards & letters as an intentional, tactile, and nostalgic alternative to digital overload!

Well, Gen Z’s, Millennials and BOOMERS, have we got a treat for you! 72 stunning blank art & photo notecards and 186 (and counting) from-the-heart greeting cards that let you express to your own heart’s content! Including a Collection of dedicated Thanks & Gratitude notes. I would LOVE to know what you think! Drop me a note at hello@thruglennslens.org?

Duh, of COURSE this would be a favorite. But it’s something Glenn and I always believed and supported with our wallets when we were here enjoying life... and I still do. Small business may be small, but we have BIG DREAMS!

So, look at all of this great "kindness fodder!" Come on, guys, how much more impetus do we all need to give this KINDNESS thing a shot?

I'm IN. Have been for a long time and even more so since I found out about an official Random Acts of Kindness organization! Hope you'll join in if you already haven't.

(Hey Glenn, guess I'm not the only one making friends with fire hydrants now!)

Cheers!