to be happy and well

My kids play an online game called ToonTown. Whenever the other players in the game need help you can give them a "toon up".  You add energy to the other players so they can keep going. One of the ways to give a "toon up" is to sprinkle confetti or glitter on the other players and their "life points" will increase.


We use this idea a lot when we see people on the street who appear down on their luck. Someone sleeping in a doorway or sitting on the sidewalk with a cup for spare change. At times it feels impossible to give to everyone. So, when we walk by we mentally sprinkle a "toon up" over them. I may not always have cash for everyone, but I can wish them peace, success, and a few more "life points".

"The next time you go out in the world, you might try this practice: directing your attention to people - 

in their cars, on the sidewalks, talking on their cell phones - just wish for them all to be happy and well. 

Without knowing anything about them, they can become very real, by regarding each of them personally and rejoicing in the comforts and pleasures that come their way. 

Each of us has this soft spot: a capacity for love and tenderness. But if we don't encourage it, we can get pretty stubborn about remaining sour."

―Pema Chödrön