Happy Sweetest Day! The third saturday in October has been set aside as Sweetest Day. It is not, as some people assume, just another version of Valentine's Day, but a day set aside for philanthropy and encouragement on a public level.

Herbert Kingston was a Cleveland candy company worker who began Sweetest Day in 1922. He wished to bring happiness to orphans, shut-ins and the under-privileged. By doing so, he hoped to show these people that they were not forgotten. On the third Saturday in October he distributed candy, cookies, and small gifts hoping to encourage people and make them happy. The articles I have read make no mention of Kingston's religious views, indeed they state that Sweetest Day is a holiday void of a relious background. However, I prefer to believe that Herbert Birch Kingston was following the Biblical mandate to visit shut ins and prisoners, as well as speaking of caring for orphans and widows as being true spirituality.

This is a holiday most often celebrated in the midwest, where it's founder lived, however it is such a wonderful thought that it could really change the world if celebrated in the spirit it was begun. Modern suggestions are to take a loved one out to dinner, or bring chocolates but that is what Valentines Day is for, right? None of us should need an excuse to be nice ot our loved ones!

Think about people around you that might need encouragement. Neighbors, people from church, people in nursing homes and hospitals...

What about taking a plate of cookies to the Police Department, or Fire Department just to say thanks for a job well done? Homeless shelters...the list is endless. I am sure you can think of more people that could use a smile.

Sure why not? In the spirit of Sweetest Day here are some "green" ways to show you care:

1. Buy Fair Trade Chocolates to give as a gift to the group, or person, you have chosen to bless.

2. Make a gift basket with Shade Grown, Fair Trade coffee, some homemade organic cookies, and a couple of nice mugs bought from Salvation Army or Goodwill. Or if you dislike the idea of thrift shopping, Buy a couple of travel mugs that can be reused at Starbucks.

3. Lagusta's Lucious Vegan Chocolate Truffles is a sweet encouragement to anyone and is not only vegan but slave labor free! They use Fair Trade chocolate and are battling the commercial take over of the world as much as I am. :)

4. Plant a tree. I am serious. Ask an elderly neighbor if they would like a tree or a few bushes planted in their yard.

5. How about an assortment of Raw Milk Cheeses from a small, local cheesemaker? Add a bottle of wine from a local winery. You might want to save this one for someone other than a prisoner..maybe keep it for sharing AFTER you make your other deliveries!

6. Commit to spending time with someone who needs you. Someone needs what you have to offer. Maybe a child needs a mentor, a Big Brother or Big Sister, or maybe you elderly enighbor needs a listening ear, or a soft shoulder. Does the single mom down the street need a day off? There are needs within the child protective system for child advocates...Really, there is something for everyone. And what could be sweeter?

If everyone took a few moments to think of the lives of those around us: the needs, the sorrows, the fears, and hurts, then we would be forced out of our self indulgent cocoons by the sheer compassion that would have to wash over us. Mother Theresa changes her world one person at a time. We have the same ability to change our worlds by changing the lives of just one person around us every time we get the chance.

Happy Sweetest Day! Get out there and make a difference.