Storm Chasers

A storm's brewin'... I hope.

A few years back I attended a presentation about a bucket - something about our buckets being filled or emptied, based on our interactions with others. And, the more full our bucket the better. I didn't remember details, but I remembered generally liking the premise.

Fast forward.

Wednesday morning I opened my email to a thoughtful note from a dear friend. The note thanked me for sharing an evening of what most of us would describe as mundane (even monotonous) activities - running errands, giving baths to the boys, and cleaning up after dinner. But the note was so personal, so detailed, and so generous my bucket could not help but be filled. Hump day at 9:04 a.m. and I had the energy of a person who could have worked another week.

Suddenly it came rushing back to me. Tom Rath and Donald Clifton, "How Full Is Your Bucket?" They maintain, we experience approximately 20,000 individual moments in a waking day. Each moment lasts only a few seconds - and rarely are they remembered as neutral. Most moments are remembered as being either positive or negative.

Wednesday, June 17 at 9:04: positive.

One more thing. There's a magic ratio. Apparently five positive interactions to one negative interaction is the magic ratio for marriages whereas 3:1 suffices in the work place (yes, marriage is harder work than work).

Today I play weather woman. Today I want to end the drought by creating conditions for a more positive outlook and for renewed energy. Let it rain. Put drops in the buckets of people you know. Say thank you, pay a compliment, or catch someone in the act of doing something right. Let it rain, let it rain, let it rain.

Turns out there's a science to filling buckets just like there's a science to predicting weather (unless you live in Arizona... where it's just plain hot). Drops must be individual, specific, and deserved. If it doesn't fulfill those three criterion, it won't soak in. The drop will run right off, without ever penetrating.

So, regardless of what the weather is doing outside your window right now, make it rain. Commit to a ratio of 5:1. Place five drops in the buckets of people you think are deserving. Let's see today if we can't brew a storm together. And, if you want... tell us about your weather and who you'll rain down on.

Signing off until tomorrow...

RAK Attack

Announcements at the end...

First, a quick note. Can I pick 'em or can I pick 'em? I would say I hope each of you is enjoying Highlowaha's new contributors as much as I am, but I know you are because we have had close to 700 visits to our site in the past six days. At this rate, we're sure to top last year's record of 5,000 views in 46 days!

Another day, another orientation event.

Today we introduce (or reintroduce, as the case may be) one of Highlowaha's favorite traditions - The Random Acts of Kindness Box (RAK Box).

Background. One week last year I was feeling "blah." It could have been the tides, alignment of planets, a bad week for Libras, dreary weather, PMS.... Who knows. I'm a firm believer, however, that one of the quickest ways to snap yourself out of a bad mood is to do something nice for someone else. I quickly declared that week Random Acts of Kindness Week and for six days we performed a daily act of kindness. One day I left gently used books for the taking at Starbucks. Another day I challenged all of you to join me in doing a random act of kindness, and on a third day I introduced to you my Random Act of Kindness Box.

Each Highlowaha reader was invited...asked... begged... implored... to send me a postcard with his or her address. Once a postcard was received it was placed in my Random Acts of Kindness Box and then, when I was feeling particularly blue... or generous, I dug into my box and randomly selected someone to be the winner of a prize. All kinds of fun items were given away, from baked goods to cookbooks, fun pads of paper, gift cards, and t-shirts to name a few. It's a new year, but this old idea is here to stay.

Part of this stunt is about me loving mail. If you send me a postcard with your address on it then I get mail and you become eligible for fun Highlowaha prizes. It's a win win. Problem. If I let returners rest on their laurels and use last year's postcard, then I get less mail and new readers think, that next year at this time they can also sit back and eat bon bons. If, however, the playing field is leveled so, each year old and new readers alike must submit a new postcard, then newcomers are assured their place at the table is just as secured as a long-time reader.

Yeah, yeah, I know... this means you having to get (or make) a postcard, slap a .27 cent stamp on it, and make a trip to the post office. I'd better sweeten the pot if I'm going to get the likes of readers such as AZLori, and other post office avoiding folks to participate. It just so happens I can. Weeks ago I did a training session and got paid in the form of a Target Gift Card. Rather than walk in the store and have the $100.00 disintegrate, before I get passed the Dollar Bins, I've decided I want to invest it in you (alright... and in a week's worth of good mail. I'm not totally selfless).

There are four $25.00 Target gift cards for the taking. Here's all you need to know about winning one. Send me a postcard to Claudia Beeny at 4012 Harvestwood Court, Grapevine, Texas 76051. On the back, include your name and address. If you're a lurker and don't want me to know your name, then just sign it "Loyal Lurker." Include the name and address of a friend and he/she will also get a shot at winning one of the $25.00 gift cards. Cards will be distributed as follows:

• One $25.00 Target Gift Card goes to the person who sends the first postcard I receive.
  
• One $25.00 Target Gift Card goes to the 18th post card I receive.
  
• The remaining two $25.00 Target Gift Cards go to the reader whose name (and whose friend's name) I draw from the Random Acts of Kindness Box on Friday, March 6.
  

That gives you all plenty of time to get your postcard, get your stamp, and get them in the mail! One more note. Heather made her first official Highlowaha post yesterday and yielded close to $500.00 in donations. I'm trying to give money away. Don't let her show me up... please! She's competitive and she'll never let me live it down.

Announcements:

• Gift of #218: Thanks to the generosity of our readers, we have already raised close to $500.00 toward our new service initiative. Our blog will work to provide deserving families of Spirit of #218 experiences. Projects might include sponsoring a birthday party, a family trip to an amusement park or the movies (with all the works), a family portrait, or tickets to the circus. All of you will help determine which families and which projects. We estimate $250.00 per gift which means we can already grant two! Way to go.
  
• Email Subscriptions: 19 of you have already subscribed to get our daily post in your email box. You know it's true. Getting our fun post in your email box is the equivalent of getting fun snail mail in your post office box! Do it today.
  
• Patchwork Denim Fashion Show: Newcomers, you'll have to wait until Thursday to find out what all the fun is about. Old timers... if you've earned a patch (or two or three), slap them on something denim, take a picture, and email it to us by Wednesday at 5:00 p.m.
  
• Cook Book Recipes: Tera's looking for some Highlowaha Love in her mail box. Send her your favorite recipe to Tera Johnson, 2590 N. Moreland, Apt. E22, Shaker Heights, OH, 44120. Or email it to Tera at tmichalski@jcu.edu.
  

Signing off until tomorrow...