I’m sending love your way on this January Friday. 

Right now, I’m feeling so grateful for us being able to walk, side by side, through all the ups and downs of life. 

Whatever you are experiencing, and however you are feeling right now, I want you to know that you are not alone and that I honor your journey. I trust your path. I see your goodness. 

I appreciate that we are walking this path together, sharing ways to bring more moments of simple joy into our lives and those of the people we love. 

Because you are here with me, I know that you share my values of friendship, family, connection, love, creativity, and self-expression. 

I wanted to pop by today to remind us all that we have the choice to focus today on these values. We can turn our attention to simple gratitude and to love. We can practice living what we value most.

I don’t say that in the sense of “don’t feel your feelings” or in some silly Pollyanna way. I say it in the purest sense of gifting ourselves with a few moments of taking an action that feels good to our tender hearts. 

I say it because I love you and I want you to remember that joy is a practice.

Celebration is a practice.

Love is a practice. 

As someone with a history of anxiety and depression, I know firsthand how creating tiny moments of joy — I call them “pinpricks of light” — can lift my spirits. 

***

So, in that spirit, today’s Uplift Gift is a super super simple one that anyone can practice anytime, anywhere! 

I call it Hide-a-Hello and I bet you’ve done this before. Or, maybe someone has done it for you. 

It is the little loving act of hiding a note, card, treat, or small gift for someone so they will find it later and know you were thinking of them. 

If you are thinking, “That’s it? That’s all?” you are right! Haha. It is THAT simple.

But you know what? That tiny act of love will certainly have a huge impact on the person you surprise! 

See that photo up above? That is my travel backpack. I recently flew back to San Francisco after visiting my wonderful mom in Ohio. 

When I got home and unpacked my backpack, I found that brown paper bag that you see in the photo. Inside that little bag, were a few butterball cookies that my mom had baked! 

My mother had snuck those cookies in my bag when I was sleeping or in the shower at her house and by the time I discovered them, I was 2500 miles away, exhausted from the trip, and already missing being with my mom. 

You can bet that that “tiny” surprise made me extraordinarily happy. It made me feel loved. And it connected me to my mom. 

***

This uplift gift is a great one to do when someone in your household is about to travel, just like what my mom did. When your person leaves their packed suitcase unattended for a minute, you quickly hide a little tiny something for them to find later, when they unpack. 

When my son traveled to France a few weeks ago, I wrote him a card and enclosed a family photo. Then, when he was showering right before we were taking him to the airport, I slipped the card way way to the bottom of his suitcase, underneath a pile of jeans and tee-shirts. 

He didn’t find that card until long after the exhausting trip across the ocean and when he was settling into his new room. By then, “home” was feeling so very far away and hopefully that small envelope reminded him that his family is with him always in spirit! 

***

You don’t have to wait until someone is traveling to hide-a-hello! You can hide a card or post-it or photo in a book someone is reading, in their coat pocket, underneath their pillow, or anywhere at all! 

You can hide a $10 bill for your teenager in the sleeve of their favorite sweater. You can hide a cupcake with a note inside the vegetable drawer of the fridge. You can hide movie tickets underneath the television remote. 

Obviously, there are countless ways you can surprise someone with a hide-a-hello! 

Remember, just because this is a simple gift, don’t shrug it off as not worthwhile. I’m STILL feeling loved whenever I think of those butterball cookies (already eaten, of course!) that my mom took the time to hide!

I sure hope you will email me to share a little story or a photo and tell me about your simple uplift hide-a-hello gift for someone! 

Seek celebration — even in dark corners,

xo Sherry

P.S. Want to try the “advanced” practice of this gift? Do what I did: Take a photo of your hide-a-hello note or gift. Then, mail it to yourself or schedule an email to arrive weeks later with the photo in it. Watch and see how it makes you feel to remember doing a little something for someone you love. (My mom reads my emails and I can bet you that she smiled big time when she saw that butterball-backpack photo!! 

P.P.S. Please take some time today to appreciate yourself and to celebrate who you are. Don’t wait another minute to acknowledge your generous heart and your beautiful spirit. I see you. You are absolutely lovable. YOU MATTER!