Morning all.  Time and tide wait for no one, and so I have to increase the postings on this blog a little. I want to make sure, for those of you who are following, that you get the full list of possible deeds sooner rather than later.

Firstly, to recap, here are the deeds listed so far.

Deed One: A thank-you note.

Deed Two: Go to a book shop and buy a book.

Deed Three: Take a walk.

Deed Four: Give up your seat.

Deed Five: Pick up a piece of Litter.

All good? So far, what we have here are a list of kindnesses based on observing the environment around you. You are being asked to interact with the world in a positive way, even if it is very small.

Deed Six takes all that and throws it out the window. The demands of Deed Six are not like the others, and frankly this one takes courage and effort. Some of you would do it without thinking, others will never do this. So here is Deed Six.

Deed Six; Go and give blood.

Noowwwww, now you just stay right there, and don’t move. Even if you don’t go and give blood, you can grant the idea to the end of this blog before dismissing it, okay? Giving blood takes firstly about half an hour, is a hugely helpful thing to do for someone you don’t even know, and they even give you chocolate afterwards. Yes, they did at one stage give you Guinness but they don’t any longer. Now you get tea, coffee, juice or water.

Not everyone can give blood. In Ireland the restrictions are based on where you are from or have visited, what illnesses you have had and even your orientation. Here is a quiz to see if you are eligible, and that site has further pdfs that can let you know more info.

Now, here is a list of places where you can give blood; And just to put my money where my mouth is, I’m planning to do this myself this week, at the Stillorgan branch. If you want, and if you can, drop me a line and we can go together.

As I said, some of you would never do this. But give it some thought, it really does make a difference.  And you get cake. So give it some thought.

Here is Deed Four in my own list of Christmas Deeds. Remember, the rule is you can tell no one you have a concerted programme of good deeds to get through, but instead just do as much good as you can without fanfare. Like Batman. But without the dodgy ‘standing on the roof’ personality that isn’t really born out of wisdom.

So let’s not mention last year’s list, shall we?

So are you ready? Here is Deed Four.

Deed Four; Let someone ahead of you in traffic or give up your seat on public transport.

Ah, traffic. I’ve never seen anything that can drive sane people so crazy so quickly. And at this time of year, everyone seems to be up earlier to beat traffic and get a head start on the day, and so it means we’re all driving against the clock and each other. The result is insanely pressurised driving that makes everyone more tense, irritable and snappish.

So what you do is, you let the other guy win.

Sure, you could make him or her wait if you wanted to. But instead, your good deed is to drive with politeness, calmness and to let the other guy ahead of you. In this way, you’re making a decision to be positive and to make someone else’s day as pleasant as possible, rather than fighting Fate to do the same to you. Acting in such a positive way means that you’re telling that irritable, snappish mood to take a hike, and usually end up feeling better no matter what.

Same goes for public transport. As much as you can, stand, and let someone else sit. Most of us would give up our seat to the elderly or to a pregnant passenger. Now, decide to give up your seat the moment you can, so that you can help take care of someone else. In this way you can be kind, caring, and smug  thinking of others even when they are strangers, a very good way to improve your own self opinion.

Imagine; lanes and lanes of people trying to do good…

So there is Deed Four. Tomorrow, Deed Five; these are about to get harder….

Each year Christmas comes earlier, and as such the meaning becomes more diluted. Sure, it may seem to be about Peace, Kindness and Goodwill to All, but what it actually becomes is a hunt for presents no one remember and a panic filled feeling that conveys only stress.

The best way I have found to counteract that, is to instigate the 12 Good Deeds of Christmas. These twelve deeds convey to even the most weary soul a sense of the meaning of Christmas that can’t be denied. But I must have rules for you, if you decide to take them up.

YOU CAN TELL NO ONE YOU ARE DOING THIS.

A big factor is the avoidance of praise for doing all this. Instead, make your good gestures silently, without fanfare.

So, without further ado, here is Good Deed Number 1;

1. Write a thank-you note to someone who normally never gets thanked.

Your bin man, your post person, the lady who makes coffee each day,  the cleaner at work, the train driver, all these people do their jobs without any expectation of thanks. Go and get a small thank you card, or a piece of blank paper, and write out to them a thank you for all their hard work.

You don’t have to sign your name if you don’t want to, the gesture itself is enough. But sending thanks out there, to some of the large numbers of unthanked people we meet and rely on everyday, is a wonderful thing to do. And you’ll be thought of in the most positive fashion for your actions.

Got any other suggestions for good deeds? Let me know!