No Better Time to Seek Good Karma

'Tis the season to give and receive.
To eat and to play. To hug and to be hugged.

Near the end of one of my latest blog posts, I included a link to a site that offered insight into something we'll call "social media karma." From all practical standpoints, let's broaden our horizons and consider the entire picture. Human karma. Good karma. Seeking good karma.

No time is better than the present. And no present is better than the gift that keeps giving. Seeking karma, in essence, is the best gift to give because it's the best gift to get.

Veteran social media blogger Chris Brogan recently penned a blog passage about how folks can use the season as a reason to give back a little while not asking for anything in return.This is an excellent idea. "Give what you can," is the theory here.

Here is a tiny sampling of choices for giving this season.

Staying local is a good idea if you want to donate your time and energy, but sometimes you can stay local and get more involved than you think. Here is a good example of how a branch of Habitat for Humanity in a little town in Canada offers people a chance to donate to their charity via the purchase of "gifts" for the holidays.

From a marketing perspective, I think State Farm's latest "Thanks For Being There Campaign," is a good example of how corporations can jump on the humanity bandwagon and offer something free to consumers.
Here is another link for a quick and easy and oh-so-delightful way to give thanks by saying thanks, thanks to Xerox. Take a moment and send a holiday blessing to a soldier. You will be glad you did.

Facebook offers users the chance to purchase (errrr...donate) little donation tickets to pass out as gifts to others. Pretty neat way of making someone feel special - by allowing them to take their donation and actually hand it off to the organization they choose. I liken this to how children enjoy dropping the coins into the Salvation Army bucket as parents watch with pride. Everyone is left with a warm smile.

And of course, Google is a terrific example of how a corporation bands together and at the same time ropes in all it's extended family in order to spread a little more joy a little farther this tight holiday season. Check out their efforts here. 

Dr. Oz is a consummate example of how to not only lead a healthier lifestyle, but to also remain humane in all aspects of life that may make this tiny world a better place to live. I say this because his show happens to be aired at the exact time I hit the gym for an afternoon run. And there are only two types of television shows to watch once I hurdle the three mile marker and need to make at least another two. Show 1: Something that irritates the crap out of me and makes my blood boil. Like, say...Jersey Shore, any form of Housewives, My Sweet 16...oh god...I think I need to go to the gym now just thinking about it all...Show 2: (The preferred genre) is one that is incredibly uplifting and inspirational. Both genres keep me going until I am well past stated goal of huffing a couple miles farther. The difference is that Dr. Oz allows me to feel like the world is a good place. The other shows make me feel like drinking straight vodka. Check out what Dr. Oz says about being a giving person...he'll tell you, "The more you value what you are doing with your mind, the more you'll do healthier things with your body."

Amen to that.