Take a moment to recall.  How do you feel when you get an unexpected but loving text from someone?  What about an email, a phone call, even a card in the mail? 

What does it feel like when your son or your friend offers to lend a hand?  You didn’t have to ask, they offered.

When we stop to think about it, we realize that it feels nice.  We don’t always stop and consider but when we do, we know that it feels good when people are thoughtful of us.

The same is true when we are considerate of others.  They feel good.  We make them feel good by giving them a phone call or sending a note or offering to lend a hand. 

A small investment of time can be meaningful.  A phone call or a text takes only a few minutes.  Stopping by or lending a hand may take a bit more time but not a lot more time.

Give the gift of yourself in your own special ways.  Did you bake today?  Perhaps your invalid neighbor or your recently divorced friend would like a cookie.  Just drop them by with a smile and then be on your way.  Do you collect jokes?  Share a few of your most recent jokes as a gift of you to another person.

It’s so very simple to remain in touch, to say a quick hi.  In our modern world, it might be as simple as an ecard.  Even better, drop a post card in the mail.

For those older people or sick people in your life, a call or a brief visit will raise their spirits.  Simple human touch leaves the person who’s been visited refreshed in a more lasting way.

Best of all, your thoughtfulness of others reaps benefits for you as well.  Research shows that our personal sense of well-being grows when we make an effort on another’s behalf.