2015 Merry Moments Recap

I hope everyone had a beautiful holiday season this year and I am grateful for all who participated in the Merry Movement. This was our FIFTH year tracking merry moments. Our first year still trumps any other year, but I am grateful we have been able to carry on this tradition.

This year's holiday season felt a bit different. I don't know about you but to me, it felt like people were a bit more distracted or uncomfortable with this year's season. A lot has been happening in the world lately so maybe people's priorities have shifted. Through this observation, it gave me time to reflect on the inspiration behind this whole movement and why we started five years ago.

At first, I was disappointed we logged less than 70 moments but then I realized, these are 70 deliberate times that one human did something nice for another human. There were two huge participants that successfully spread holiday cheer at least once a day and I applaud their dedication to the movement. The Merry Movement is simple. It is about making someone happy and bringing light into their day. I was reminded of this when I was sitting at a stop sign and made a point to catch eye contact and smile at every.single.person. walking by. There was even a moment when I sat at the stop sign longer than I needed to, just so I could acknowledge humans walking by. Days fly by and they seem to go even quicker during the holidays, but, if we can take time to make someone happy, even for a brief minute, it pauses one of those "flying moments" and hopefully will inspire someone to pay it forward.

Genuine human interaction is becoming less frequent in our day to day lives with the use of technology and for one month, I challenge all of you to engage and smile more with those around you. I hope one day it will just be a habit and "holiday cheer" will be spread all year round.

So, to all the readers and followers of this movement, I hope you understand what this is really about. It is about spreading love, even if you don't use the hashtag or submit the moment, just make it happen. It can be as simple as a smile, a wave or it can be as grand as volunteering, paying for someone's Christmas tree or surprising a coworker with coffee.

Just make a moment.

xoxo

Day 24 - Happy Holidays everyone!

Day 23

67. Bought a pastry for someone next in line.

66. Left some cash for the next person at the gas station.

Day 22 - Two days left!

65. Filled up someone's parking meter.

Day 21

Day 18, 19 & 20 - Last full weekend to spread the love!

64. Made a donation to St. Jude's

63. Covered a shift for someone so they could spend more time with their family.

62. Gave someone a ride to the airport so they wouldn't have to pay to park their vehicle while on vacation.

61. While shopping I overheard another customer say they needed help but couldn't find an employee to help them, so I offered assistance and we were able to find what she was looking for.

60. Made a donation to the Salvation Army

59. Bought lunch for a friend.

Day 17