February 2023
Read full Newsletter
“You can count on me like one, two, three
I’ll be there
And I know when I need it, I can count on you like four, three, two
And you’ll be there
‘Cause that’s what friends are supposed to do”
~ Count on Me by Bruno Mars
Hello WIS Community –
Happy February! I’m hoping that your month is going well and treating you kind. While we know that February is full of love with Valentine’s Day, did you also know that February 17 is Random Acts of Kindness Day? This is a great reminder that big and even small gestures (a smile, holding the door open, letting a person merge in traffic, etc) are easy ways for people to connect. It’s also about being KIND to yourself as we continue to navigate a continuously changing world.
KINDNESS is my word for this month. I’ve been thinking lately, can acts of kindness help us create a more sustainable world? When we practice kindness to others, or kindness towards ourselves, there are countless positive outcomes. We create a ripple effect of kindness that goes beyond the person it was intended for, creating compassion within our communities and beyond. When we can count on each other and kindness is shown everywhere from the rooftop to the workplace to our personal groups and even amongst strangers on the streets – then, kindness starts to become collective effort with infinitely repayable results!
We use so many words when it comes to sustainability (carbon offsets, climate neutral, etc) that the average person can feel lost in the conversation. What if we moved towards more messaging around well-being instead of statistics for a positive and motivated reason to CARE? Let’s try it this month! What are ways that you can provide random acts of (green ) kindness into your routine? (Remember this doesn’t require spending a lot of money or time.) Need some ideas? Check out RAK’s website or this list here. Share with us how you plan to incorporate KINDNESS into your month. How does it make you feel? Do you think we can change the world with one small act of kindness at a time? Let us know!
We hope you will be KIND to yourself and join us this month at an upcoming event. We have a lot going on from book club, swaps to webinars about money and diversity, equity and inclusion. we are excited to partake in CO Environmental Film Fest as we support our members‘ world premiere of “A Good Neighbor” based on environmental justice in Commerce City, CO. We are also looking forward to partnering with Let Em Have It Salon for our unique networking event to kick off Women’s History Month on March 1. Check out all the information below.
““We live in a world in which we need to share responsibility. It’s easy to say ‘It’s not my child, not my community, not my world, not my problem.’ Then there are those who see the need and respond. I consider those people my heroes.”” ~ Fred Rogers
Becky
Chief CARE Connector / Founder
becky@womeninsustainability.org
Calendly
Great article, Becky! For me, I practiced kindness toward myself by becoming cognizant of the negative thoughts/feelings of anxiety, fear of failure, and perfectionism when I am learning about a new topic. As a founder and owner of a new small business (Darzee Scrubs, LLC), I knew the importance of marketing and started learning more about how to do that this month. I immediately sensed resistance. Instead of either putting the learning off or shaming myself into doing it, I explored and identified the aforementioned thoughts and feelings and worked on releasing them. It is a process that I would like to do regularly. 🙂