Make this first 'Gift' one close to yourself
As well as helping other people there are benefits in this for you: a feel-good effect will add to your inner peace; you'll know a little more about peace; you'll have a pleasant day-to-day reminder and a valuable talking point to share with friends, family, and children.
Where the idea comes from
This idea starts from a couple of 'Tips from the Top' - suggestions from revered advocates of peace:
"All it may take for peace to prevail is for more of us to think and talk about it more often."
"Do your little bits of good where you are. It's those little bits joined together that will overwhelm the world."
The theory and the science
This Gift to Peace generates new bits of peace in a way explained in this site's Learning for Peace Posts.
Basically, there's a 'Feel-good effect' that's been embedded in us by many millenia of evolution.
When we do simple things that are valued by others they experience pleasure as the recipient, their reactions cause us to experience pleasant feelings as the donor, and witnesses may experience pleasure even though only indirectly involved..
Those things happen through highly evolved hormone and nervous systems that are the result of having caused our survival.
In effect, the bits of pleasure are each new 'bits of peace' being added to the inner peace of those involved.
That's touched on the theory and science. There's more in Learning page Posts about the link between pleasure and peace.
Now for the practical.
What to do to make this Gift to Peace
1 Think to recall a 'little bit of good' you did recently; not any of the routine ones we do all the time, but one you went a little out of your way to do - a favour for a neighbour, a kindness to a stranger, small acts voluntarily for a charity, etc.
2 Get together a clean jam jar (with lid if possible), a pen or pencil, a bowl you can leave somewhere prominent and big enough for the jar, pen/pencil AND a few edible rewards (favourite fruit, chocolate or nibbles), and some small pieces of plain paper - scraps you might otherwise recycle - but each big enough to jot down a couple of short sentences.
3 Jot down on a piece of paper piece the special bit of good you recalled, put it in the jam jar - and eat one of the rewards.
4 Keep it all somewhere well-lit as a reminder and possible talking point.
5 Add to it as often as you like. Let it remind you to think and talk with friends, family and children about little bits of good.
Between times
If you don't already, allow yourself - and take a little time - to feel good about it.
Repeat step 1 as often as you feel you can - weekly? every 21st of the month? etc
Share the idea and the practice with others.
Use the Email link on the Home page to tell us whether you think this Gift to Peace was effective.