Living Life with an Attitude of Gratitude

show that people who report the highest overall levels of happiness are ones that express gratitude regularly. (Want to see the scientific evidence? Click here) One of the easiest ways to express gratitude is to give back. Be it your time, your money or your no longer needed possessions, volunteering can be one of the most rewarding acts you can undertake.

Volunteering your time and efforts is a great way to not only benefit your life, but to enhance the community that you live and work in. Some of the great often unnoticed benefits of volunteering are:

• Learning and developing new skills
• Enhancing your resume
• Building self-confidence
• Meeting new people
• Building community

While your actions and efforts help people that may be going through a hard time, your willingness to give time will reflect upon others and may encourage younger generations to seek opportunities to give back. This simple effort creates a long lasting effect. That effect will not only build a stronger community around you but lead to you feeling a deeper connection with the world around you. Being able to see the direct impact you have on others will only lead to you further seeking out those opportunities.

Giving back can also be a great way to express gratitude towards others and to appreciate how fortunate and abundant your own life is. Finding this gratitude will ultimately help you to live a happier, healthier and more fulfilled life.

So how can you give back? Well in plenty of ways, whether you’re short on cash or short on time there are simple things you can do in and around your community that can have great benefits. If you are short on cash for monetary donations, try to find ways to donate your time, by volunteering at a local library to read to children or spending an hour a week serving meals at a homeless shelter you can make an impact without having to hand over cash. If you have some room in the budget, find a charity you feel a connection to. Here at the Bali Spirit Yoga Festival, we have raised $65,000 for our outreach programs. This year we will continue with our donations to Bali Regreen and AYO! Kita Bicara HIV & AIDS (Hey! Let’s talk about HIV & AIDS). Know that giving back in anyway is beneficial. Monetary donations are always appreciated by charity organizations, homeless shelters and food banks. For more information on the organizations we are passionate about giving back to, head over to our website or see the infographics below!

For other ways to donate:

• Clean out your closet and deliver the clothes to a local non profit or shelter.
• Clean out your kitchen and send those things you just haven’t fit into your meals to a local food bank.
• Adopt a homeless family for a holiday, providing small gifts or a holiday meal if possible.
• Volunteer to walk dogs at a local animal shelter.
• Donate books to your local library, shelter or donation center.
• Volunteer time at an elderly home or hospital.
• Mentor children through local schools, teaching kids to read, write or build skills they may not otherwise have access to.
• Volunteer with your significant other or group of friends to find a new way to connect and do some good.

The ways you can help your community are endless, they need not be large contributions to make a difference. An hour or two every week or every few weeks can have a huge impact on the community around you and you will surely feel the benefits as well.

For more opportunities check out the following sites. UN Volunteers for worldwide volunteer opportunities www.unv.org and The Red Cross www.redcross.org

Written by : BaliSpirit