I Can Be Better!

Have you ever told yourself, "I can be better" and then realized you're not sure where to go from that epiphany? I have. A lot! My problem is not identifying ways I can be better (there is a plethora!). My problem is narrowing the seemingly endless list of flaws and shortcomings to one specific trait or quality (or whatever). For the past several months I have found myself at this point: knowing I can be better but not sure exactly what I should do. I believe you become your best self when you are close to Christ, so I have decided to be more involved in church. (I know some of you are wondering if that's even possible. Trust me, it is.) I decided to no longer be as passive a church-goer as I have been and am now actually reading the material we will be covering in church. This immerses me more and more in the words of the scriptures and the prophets which, in turn, brings me closer to Christ.

While this is a good way for me personally to become a better person, it is certainly not the only way. My friend let me borrow Christmas Jars by Jason F. Wright, a wonderful story about a family's willingness to give and the ripple effect it has through their community and beyond. Definitely worth your time. This family's way of becoming better was so simple: every day the family would drop their spare change into a jar and, at the end of a year, they donated it. Look around your house, in your car, your purse, your clothes dryer. I am sure you will find long forgotten (and, sometimes, despised) spare change. Gather it up, put it in a jar, and give it to someone. But give it without fanfare.

If money is not something you are able to part with, try paying it forward or doing a random act of kindness. I have found the more I do for others, the happier I become. Your random act of kindness doesn't have to be huge or monumental. Open a door. Smile at someone. Listen. Do the dishes. Hug your children. Let someone merge on the freeway. Be nice! I am convinced if everyone in the community, city, region, state, country, world (pick your geographic preference) did one nice thing for someone else (perhaps even a stranger) every day, there would be less violence, less misery, and more happiness and kindness. And maybe even a little more allowance for one another's flaws and imperfections.

Looking for a way you can be better? Wondering where to start or what to do? Start here. It is amazing how one nice thing for someone else once a day not only affects them, but how it can affect you too. Sometimes it is almost indescribable. It does not matter what you do or if anyone notices. We may never know the effect our kindness has on others or how far it will reach. The only thing we know is how it makes us feel inside. And that is a feeling I never want to forget. What have you got to lose?