In my opinion, Seattle’s beauty doesn’t lie in a sweeping skyline or other grand features. It lies in the small, quirky things accentuated by all the public art. In that spirit, here are a few quirky thoughts about the nuances of giving time which haven’t found their way into a full blog post. (And a few quirky pictures from a gorgeous, sunny day in Seattle thrown in for fun.)

• Giving time is really about giving up something. In that comes the power to better your own life.
• Expectations defeat the purpose of giving time.
• Frustration over a lack of thanks for your time is a great way to waste an hour.
• The next time you want to be grateful, try to be less thankful for things in your life and more thankful for the people who brought you those things.
• How many hours a day do you spend being passive? Be honest with yourself. It’s hard to give or receive if you’re sitting on the couch.
• Giving time to another person is a path to connect you with them.
• Giving a few minutes to help a stranger is scary. But if you keep doing it (of course being physically safe) and make an effort to listen to them, over time you’ll become less afraid of what others say and think. That will give you confidence to make a powerful, positive difference in this world.
• We really talk about ourselves a lot. That’s not a moral judgement, just a statement of fact.
• ‘Should’ is a word that we should get rid of.
• It takes courage to be friendly, positive, and giving. Especially in a crowd of nay sayers.

Today’s gift of time … Spent the day with my son exploring Seattle. Wrote a couple of post cards for a few people who deserve a surprise in their mailbox.