Brucisms - Thoughts on Life, Leadership, and The Pursuit of Happiness

Here are our first results from The 5 Little Things Challenge!

Diane Drinkwater from FreeLittlePigs wrote:

When I was about 16 a friend and I were given a huge amount of flowers by a florist. They were not good enough to be sold, but were still perfectly good flowers. After taking some for my friend’s mum we stood on the high street and handed out free flowers for a couple of hours. People asked how much. People refused. People accepted. People smiled. It was really amazing to do something so spontaneous and fun.

Chris Cade from Spiritual Short Stories wrote:

The story caught my attention - if it’s okay, I’d love to share it with the readers on my site as well.

As for the 5 little things challenge, indeed I’ve been doing these “little” things for a couple of years now and can personally attest to the powerful changes within me. People who knew me even a couple of years ago hardly recognize me in some cases… not because I was “bad” or mean, but just with regards to the depth I now engage the world and the increased sense of peace and compassion I embody.

Here’s a few of the “little” things that I started doing here and there, but I did them enough that now they’ve become a part of the way I live my life (so yes, I’ve done them this week)…

- I always give homeless people at the corners either money or food, without regard to who they are, how they look, or what they do with what I give them. I used to only give food to homeless people because once, I gave a homeless man some money and I watched him go buy alcohol with it.

I’ve since come to realize that I don’t feel it’s my place to judge what others do with my gifts. I give for the sake of giving without any attachment to the outcome.

Last time I did this was a couple of hours ago. I think the guy might have even been a college kid moonlighting on the corner, but either way he thanked me with a smile and appeared genuinely grateful.

- I eat extremely slowly, and by doing so, thoroughly taste and enjoy my food. A few weeks ago, it took me almost an hour to finish a single large muffin.

- Each morning I wake up without an alarm clock. This alone has had profound impacts on my state of being.

- When others ask for my time, I make it a point to stop whatever I’m doing and make time. Occasionally, I may ask for a few minutes to tie up a loose end to what I’m working on, but about 99% of the time I turn my full attention to the person who is before me.

- I ask strangers “How are you?” with genuine caringness and listen for their response. People at the checkout stands seem to enjoy this immensely, because even though I ask them the same question as the person before me asked them, they can feel the difference.

I think the list could go on and on… but it all starts with doing 1 little thing 1 time. Once we feel the impact that it has on us and those around us, that 1 little thing snowballs into 5… and 10… until eventually it’s not a little thing nor a big thing, it’s just a way of being.

And that, I believe, is what you mean when you talk about the outcome of this exercise being change.

Shilpan from Successful Soul wrote:

Bruce,

You are awesome. You won’t believe this but I realized that I had a chance to make a difference yesterday. I was at the check-out counter at the local grocery store. Couple behind me was talking about damage to their home during recent storms. I did not know how much was their grocery bill but I paid $50 to the cashier and ask him to credit to their bill and walked away. After reading your article, I am feeling great about making difference for one starfish.

I have a blog and I will add your story and request stories from others.

Thanks again from the bottom of my heart,
Shilpan

Thanks to everyone who has participated so far - and keep them coming! Together we can make a difference one little thing at a time!

Join The 5 Little Things Challenge and subscribe to Brucisms now!

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