This Lent season, instead of giving something up, how about adding some activities to bring beauty, kindness, and grounding for yourself and those around you. Try one of these each day of Lent, or pick one to do throughout Lent. You could do these as a family, with a friend, or on your own. Share with others what you did each week and how it went. 

1. Go on a walk on a new trail or a different part of your neighborhood.
2. Start a gratitude jar in your house. Use it to collect notes of gratitude. 
3. Hug a tree.
4. Write a card to a friend you are missing or thinking of.
5. Sing with others (at a concert, in your car, at church) .
6. Bake cookies and share some with a neighbor. 
7. Make art (a collage, doodling, painting, playing with clay).
8. Write or call a government official either to thank them for standing for justice or to urge them to take a stand for something you support. 
9. Write a thank you note to a nonprofit organization that is doing good in the world. 
10. Go through your clothes/toys/stuff and see if you have anything to donate to Maine Needs. 
11. Write a quote about hope and place it somewhere where others might see it. 
12. Call a friend. Ask how they are doing and really listen. 
13. Practice a social media pause for a day.
14. Host a potluck with friends or neighbors.
15. Get a bit extra of something at the grocery to share with an unhoused neighbor on your drive home. 
16. Spend five minutes today just allowing yourself to sit and be. 
17. Be intentional to smile at people today.
18. Memorize a favorite verse or quote. 
19. Light a candle for a specific prayer you are holding.
20. Put on music and dance your grief or thanksgiving or longing.
21. Read a poem and share it with a friend.
22. Stand barefoot outside to feel the ground beneath your feet. 
23. Visit the ocean and be still and listen and watch. 
24. Write a haiku (or two). 
25. Reread part or all of a book you have loved.
26. Walk slowly in the woods and breathe in the fresh air. 
27. Plan a get-together with one or more friends.
28. Tend a plant or plant a seed. Give thanks for the persistence of life. 
29. Connect with a neighbor. If they don’t have your phone number or email consider sharing your contact information. 
30. Offer to pick up groceries or run an errand for a neighbor or friend. 
31. Pick up some school supplies or snacks and drop them off at a local school. 
32. Prepare and enjoy a meatless meal. 
33. Go for a walk and pick up trash. 
34. Leave a note on someone’s car with a kind word. 
35. Set an alarm on your phone to go off at three different times during the day. In those moments take a few minutes to be still. 
36. Leave a kind server or delivery person the biggest tip you can afford. 
37. Leave a small gift or note in your friend’s mailbox or at their front door.
38. Contact your City Councilor, School Board Member, or other municipal leader regarding an issue you care about. If they have done something you support, thank them. 
39. Drop off books in a Little Free Library. 
40. Pay for the person behind you in line or drive thru.