Sustainable September 2018 - And so it begins again Q&A

It's that time of year again, where you can count on me to be here every day... sharing what I lovingly call Environmental Kindnesses during Sustainable September. 

I thought I would answer a few questions to set the coming month in motion...

Why do I do Sustainable September on a Kindness blog?

One of the things that people often forget is that kindness doesn’t have to be only for other humans. It is a gift that we can give to creatures great and small, ourselves and the environment. 

This earth sustains life. Our lives. It seems like a small thing to take one month out of every year to help give back and help preserve the environment for future generations. That is a kindness to our children too. Kindness can simply be making the world a better place for those who are yet to be born, or those who are yet to grow up. 

We can kindly make the world a better place for others and for ourselves. But most of all we can choose to live more sustainably so other people, plants, organisms and animals have a better chance at living their best lives.

How long have you been doing Sustainable September?

So for the last 4 years I have been working to create a Sustainable life for myself, and to inspire others to make simple changes for the benefit of all. It is important to be kind to ourselves, each other, other living things and particularly the environment which sustains us.

What will Sustainable September Focus on this year?

One of the things that stops a lot of people with regular old kindnesses (not that there is realy a thing as 'regular' or 'old' about kindness) but that they think it requires a lot of cash to do it. That is simply not true. However, this year I thought I would share money saving ways to help the environment AND put some money back in your pockets to save up to do that kindness that you have been wanting to do for ages. Or to, you know, help you pay the bills.

What is new this year?

So in May I moved from Australia to Wales, and I am currently preparing for a new move to England. 

I have just gotten my first job in Archaeology in the UK. And I am super excited!!!

I have been pretty lucky that I could get work in my field of study after such a long time of study.

So while we will be doing Sustainable September together, we can explore our own cities, or in my case a new city, and find eco-friendly options.

This month I will be attempting to share some of the things I am doing or have started here.

One of the things I would like to take this sustainable September to look at is how living environmentally friendly can actually save you money. It doesn’t have to be an expensive lifestyle change. In fact it can actually save you a lot of money and I want to show you how.

What have you learned in the UK?

I used my last 3 months in Wales to learn about and support the first Zero Waste stores in Cardiff. I am so excited that there will be a not for profit Zero Waste store opening in the coming months there. You can follow @ripple_living on Instagram, and i even supported their Kickstarter campaign. 

On a side note: I will be returning to Cardiff regularly (as that is where my boyfriend lives). So if you see some of the things I share it will be a mix of England and Wales. 

Where else can I find out about Kindness? 

There are literally hundreds of amazing websites, profiles, pages and people who promote Kindness in this world. I encourage you to seek them out, share them and encourage them. It will make a huge difference to them, as it does to me.  

If you want to find out about the 365 Days of Kindness Facebook page click the link here. 

You can also follow me personally on Instagram (which is pretty new for me) @daenaguest. I must admit there is a lot of posts about good books, yummy food, kindness and sustainable practices on there already. I am also on Pinterest (but not as much these days). So feel free to check either social media account out, and if it aligns with your values, please follow me, if not... Thanks for thinking about it. 

I want to thank you all for reading this far and I wish you all the best in whatever you do. I hope you keep checknig out Sustainable September though. It's pretty awesome, if I do say so myself... and I do! hehehhe.

If you have any more questions please don't hesitate to ask. 

Much love to you all,

Daena Guest

Random Act of Kindness Instagram

Hey everyone, 

I’m still alive and the move has gone well! Still job searching but going well otherwise. 👍🏼😍👍🏼

I wanted to share this little goodie. Since moving to the UK I have been leaving little thank you cards around to those who have helped me!!! And it turns out someone found it and posted it on Instagram. I totally wanted to tag myself in it ... then thought that the best thing was that I didn’t actually let them know it was me! So I’m sharing it here because I’m excited it made their day! Kindness can be so simple! 🙂 

Love Daena x

Ps. After I hid this card under my teapot (its usually the last thing to be collected on the table) I got up and walked out. But apparently I had left my jacket behind. So they ran it out to me! I often screw up my “secret” card giving! I need to get my getaways down pat! Hehehe. #missionImpossibleThemetune #kindness #kindnessforall

And the world changes...

Hi everyone,
If you have been following us over at the Facebook page, you would know that some big stuff is going on in my world. It has been a while since I wrote last but I have not forgotten about you.

First of all, my hair was lopped off again recently. I have raised over $950 for Variety as well as donating my hair to them to be made into wigs.

 

You can still donate here if you would like to contribute to the cause. I am also loving the new Hair cut. Who knew it would take such small amounts of shampoo? And would dry super fast too? well... short haired people I guess!

But my BIG news is... I am moving far, far, far away from my home in Perth, Australia. 



You see, 10 years ago I moved to the UK to do the last four units of my undergraduate degree. I lived in Hull, England for a whole 5 months, then spent a bit of time travelling around Europe before returning home to Australia. Since then I have had a deep love of Europe and particularly the UK. I've even been back there several times since I returned to Australia. I have some amazing friends in England, Wales, Ireland, Germany... just to name a few.

For the Last few months I have been planning, preparing and organising my life so that I can move back to the UK. A few weeks ago I got my confirmation that I have a 5 year visa to live and work over there. Which is just so exciting and mildly terrifying at the same time. My family are super supportive, because they know this is my dream. However I Know they will miss me greatly.

My mum, whom I have cared for, for the last almost-decade, is safe and will be lovingly cared for. My sister and brother in law will have a room again to house passing visitors and unexpected guests (or Guests when I stop in for a visit). My niece and nephew are both devastated that I will miss the day to day stuff.  my niece beautifully told me today that she "didn't want me to leave, but she didn't want me to come back either" because she wants me to "live my dream". I thought that it was such a beautiful thing that she told me... I think she is also hoping to come visit me and see snow... but I will stick to her very adult perspective for a 10 year old. 

Part of the reason I want to go to the UK is because of the work opportunities there. I have trained to be an Archaeologist and even have my masters degree in the field but I have chosen that my mum and her health were more important at the time to leave to pursue my dreams of archaeology and adventure. For archaeologists, I know that the job is not all lost ruins, crystal skulls, and whole pots. I know it is not all adventure, it can be painful, cold and hard work. But for me ... I have never felt happier than being covered in mud in a trench on the English/Welsh boarder.

So what does that mean for now? I have no idea. I will be a little disconnected from my family and friends in Australia but only physically. There are so many types of technology that I am sure I can make keep friendships up. I have no solid plans for where in the UK I will end up yet. I haven't secured a job in the field, but as it is coming to summer I hope to find something soon.

What does that mean for 365 days of Kindness? Not much really. I will still write here when I can (sporadically at best) and my sister Vandra will help me manage the Facebook page as usual. I am hoping to add a few more Kindness Lovers/sharers to the Facebook page in the future so that we can all share our favourite kindness stories there.

I am still continuing with my kindness everyday. I will miss sharing with the family every night what kind deed they do everyday. However it has meant that we are all doing a version of 365days of kindness. I love that I am not alone in doing it.

However, you may notice my posts have a more travel orientated vibe or even a more a "British" slant to them, even though the Facebook Page will still have many Australian stories in it, it will continue to be a global acknowledgement of kindness.

So next time I write that is where I will be. Somewhere in the UK, celebrating kindness and living my dream. I want to thank everyone who has been encouraging me, supporting me, motivating me, pushing me even, to reach my dreams no matter the cost. 

I hope that I can live the dream and continue to live my life as an example of kindness and love. 

Love you to you all, 

Daena xx

The little book of Kindness

I am reading "The Little Book of Kindness" by Burnaderte Russell at the moment. I am just over half way through this easy to read book. 

I must admit it's taken me a bit of time because I had dropped it in a bag and then couldn't find it again for about 3 weeks. But I have it Back now! Yay! 

Im reading it to myself and had to share this little gem from the section about kindness in the workplace... 

"Don't underestimate the power of a nice smile. Or if you can't smile, the glower with a certain enigmatic allure." 

I found this hilarious! I have had days when I'm not in the smiling mood. But the funny thing about a smile is it is contagious! I remember a poem we used to have glued to the back of the toilet door. 

"Smiling is contagious 

you catch it like the flu, 

Someone smiled at me today, 

I started smiling too. 

I walked around the Corner 

and someone saw my grin 

When they smiled back I realised 

I had passed it on to him. 

I thought about the smile 

and then realised it worth 

A single smile, just like mine, 

can travel around the earth. 

So if you feel a smile begin 

don't leave it undetected 

Let's start an epidemic quick 

and get the world infected." 

-Anon

I hope you have a wonderful day. Make your aim today to smile at 3 people on your travels. Let's get the world infected with smiles! 

Love Daena x

Kindness Podcast

Last year there was a Kindness Podcast released that my sister Vandra and I have been thoroughly enjoying. Seeing as how we are both relatively new to podcasts we can get pretty passionate and excited about all the stuff we are learning.

I am so grateful to my sister who decided to share her most recent favouite Kindness podcast on the 365days of Kindness Facebook Page, because we were sent a reply from the Kindness Podcast! It feels like we have just gotten a message from Kindness Royalty! So funny how excited we both got! It made my day for sure.

Because we shared their podcast they  have offered to send us a copy of the book, Live Kinder By Barbara Hirsh, which is such a blessing.

I am so grateful to other people who support a kinder world. I love to support others as best I can when i find out they are giving this Kinder way of life a go. I've met a few brave souls doing 365 (or 366) days of kind deeds and I am so proud of their effors.

I am even reading a kindness book at the moment from someone else who did 366Days of Kindness a lady by the name of Burnadette Russell. Her book 'The Little Book of Kindness: Every day actions to change your life and the world around you' feels like a book I could have written.

Then she also deals so beautifully with things I would never have thought about.

I guess even after 6 years of kindnesses I still have so much to learn! That is why I support those I can to live a kinder life! I am always learning, growing, changing. I am blessed to have more and more inspiration, because when I was starting out there werent many people promoting kindness as a way of life... but now... I am continually blown away by the kind deeds done for others. YouTube, Facebook, Podcasts, Pinterests are all filled with Kindnesses and ideas if you just know where to look!

If you want to find us on Facebook just touch the link above. I am also on Pinterest with a massive board of kindness inspiration and kindness ideas.

Also, This year my big sister also organised some gorgeous Random Acts of Kindness Cards for me to give out, as a Christmas present!

So if anyone wants some I am happy to send them to you! As always I would love to hear your kindnesses or your own kindness inspiration!

Let me know,
Much love
Daena

Goodbye 2017 - Hello 2018

Today is the day that one year finishes and another begins. Which doesn't mean much to others but it signifies a year filled with kindnesses, for me. 

(Picture from Pinterest). 

It means another successful year of: making people smile, donating to charities, giving something back, making cups of tea, spending time with the sad, broken or fragile in our community, sending notes of love and support to friends and family going through rough times, dancing in a giant crocodile suit to make a kid laugh (yes this actually happened this year), making mums at women's refuge's feel special by donating presents for them this Christmas, supporting and helping a community coordinator get things ready through out the year, learning lymphodema massage to teach family, dancing at a party so Tweens felt it was okay (& maybe even cool to do so), buying books for strangers, leaving cash in my favourite book at a store so that someone can buy it, singing for a good cause, driving for 8 hours with a friend so she could get to a town she wanted to visit in the countryside, spending 3 DAYS driving and travelling with my best friend to get her car to the other side of the country, paying for cups of coffee & lunch & dinners (maybe even a breakfast or two), hand making things for my friends, sitting with people and holding them as they cry, supporting friends who are doing their own 365days of kindness, giving away book marks to someone who saw mine & loved them, sending letters and postcards to a friend throughout the year so she knows someone loves her, forgiving people who made mistakes (sometimes this is the hardest thing to do), making food for people, organising events, doing the best I can, housesitting, dog walking, feeding pets (that aren't mine), leaving water out for wildlife, doing sustainable September and writing recourses so others can join me, being the best social justice advocate I can be, choosing love over hate, educating myself & others to choose love, lending music, DVDs & books to other people, making a fool of myself so someone else doesn't feel like they are alone or the only one who is clumsy, helping someone get their shopping into the car, giving hugs, putting away shopping trolleys for strangers, letting people in front of me in traffic, volunteering for charity organisations and events, running/walking 14kms to help my niece get to the end of a fun run like she wanted, talking to strangers and making them smile by the end of our conversations, staying up all night with a friend to talk because they were going through a rough time, learning another language so I can tell my friends in Germany that I love them and wish them a Merry Christmas and a happy new year, sending messages to friends all over the globe so they know I haven't forgotten them even though we are living in different places, liking & subscribing to YouTube videos & podcast of people who inspire me (so they know it), giving products and services I love good scores & leaving good feedback, giving my parking tickets (with lots of time & money on it) to strangers, and... well I'm sure there are more when I think about it! Hehehe. 

Next year, I want to do more. I'm still learning how to be a better person, friend, employee, family member, community member. There is still so much kindness I can do... so much we can all do. If you are looking for a New Years Resolution why not endeavour to be KINDER. 

I know I sometimes joke about how crazy it is... doing 365days of kindness! it's not crazy at all. It's often the simplest thing you can do that not only changes your life but the person you are being kind to! It doesn't have to cost money. I don't have a lot but I still make a difference with the little I have. I am often really busy and I still have a second to smile at a stranger or help some kids put chairs away after a school assembly. I don't have much but when I can I pass on the things I don't need to those that need it more than me. I occasionally have panic attacks but it doesn't stop me from treating everyone like they are people too. I've even learned this year to cook for my friend who is starting her life as a vegan (it is not as hard as it looks!). 

If you have money, you can support charities, or friend who are raising for charities or even give money to strangers in completely random ways. If you have time Volunteer to do something close to your heart, you might even make a friend or two in the mean time. If you have skills, put them to use and teach others or give your time to a cause close to my heart. If you have lots of stuff you don't need on a daily basis ask yourself what could you give away or sell that could make some else's life better (I know people who sold an almost brand new washing machine for a tiny amount to someone who really needed it - then threw in some extra bits too because the family was looking for those items. It was gorgeous).

There is so much you can do. We are only limited by our imaginations! 

So in 2018 365days Of Kindness begins again for me... 

What is YOUR New Year Resolution?

World Kindness Day 13th November!

For those who don't know, today 13th of November, is World Kindness Day! 

So I put out the challenge... to do at least one kind deed today! Stuck for ideas? 

- Can you smile at a stranger? It's free and takes a few seconds. You can even say 'hi' or 'good day'. A smile shared is a smile that keeps on giving. 

- Can you hold a door open for a stranger? Sometimes just waiting for someone at a door and smiling warmly can make the world of difference. You can even tell them it's World Kindness Day is you want! 

- Can you make someone smile? Tell a kids joke! Keep it clean and fun! Smiling is awesome. Or if you want send a cute meme to a friend of family member. Lost for joke ideas? "How do you make a Hanky dance? You put a little boogie in it!" Lol. "Where did the King keep his armies? Up his sleevies! 

- Can you call a friend or family member and let them know you love and appreciate them? If you are Not great on the phone, No problems. Write them a note or send them a card to tell them you love them. Tell them you are thinking of them and appreciate them being in your lives. 

- Can you take 5 minutes out your day and write a review? Do you have a favourite band? Or a favourite coffee shop? Or even a favourite blog? ;) maybe you just really love that new book by your favourite author. Well take a minute to write a review and tell them how much you enjoy those things! It makes them enthusiastic to continue! 

- Can you spare a few dollars and buy a stranger a cup of coffee (or a bottle of water here in Australia as its hot!)? You could pay for someone behind you in line or donate one to someone doing it tough with 'suspended coffees'. 

- Can you spare $5 (or £5 or €5)?  Donate that to your favourite charity! Every dollar counts. Most charity websites have a "donate now" button! 

- Can you cook? How about making an extra meal for a friend, family member or colleague, who lives alone or who has been sick recently! Can't cook? How about grabbing that persons favourite take away and take it to them! 

- Can you compliment a friend or family member? Maybe they have a new haircut, lost weight, done a great job at work, made you smile, laughed at a bad joke you made, or just been there when you needed to talk. Compliment them. A compliment goes a long way. Plus, it is a fun and easy Kindness to do!

-Can you drive? If you do, how about being kind in traffic. Be patient. Let people in when they need to merge. And wave when someone else does something nice for you! What is you don't drive but do take public transport? That's fine! Thank your driver or the transport security for getting you safely to your destination. 

- Can you think of other ways to be kind? Excellent! I want to see them below in the comments! 

If you can do just one of these things today (or in the next 24 hours), then you will be one of the millions of people performing kind acts around the globe today! Now that's something I want to be a part of!!!! 

Enjoy World Kindness Day! I sure will! Love Daena xx