Paying it Forward -- with Art!

This week, the staff at the hospital were encouraged to "Pay it Forward." Based on the 2000 movie, everyone was asked to say something they appreciate about a colleague, to promote staff rapport and overall happiness in the workplace. It works!

I witnessed people sharing their gratitude for others regarding specific situations in the past, for being consistently prepared and professional, and for always being friendly and approachable. The day to day grind at the hospital can be challenging. Especially now, in this era of short inpatient stays due to insurance companies and economic crises, there are more acute patients coming in for a shorter period of time, staff shortages, the occasional news of the death of a former patient, and a lot of overall stress. For everyone.

So what can we do? Personally, I believe gratitude is good for the body and mind, and thus, 'paying it forward' and participating in random acts of kindness and art are positive ways we can make the world a better place.

Psychology Today's blog post by Cathy Malchiodi on Random Acts of Art focuses on the importance of sharing creativity:

"Gratitude is a practice of giving thanks, appreciating others, and acknowledging the wonders of life. It's time to make a gratitude adjustment and carry out random acts of art - a commitment to compassion in action through creative imagination.
In Buddhism, a powerful expression of compassion in action is given by the bodhisattva, a person who has dedicated his or her life to the service of others and vowed to ease suffering of others whenever possible. The Dalai Lama points out that taking the bodhisattva vow doesn't force one into a life of service to others, but it does set a life path for offering acts of charity. It can also involve "random acts of kindness," simple actions on behalf of others, often performed anonymously. To me, these are also acts of gratitude -- the belief in both the goodness of others and yourself."

Read the rest of the article here. And share your art with someone today!