All the Joy Mandates

1. #1

   Walk outside and wave at the first living thing you see. A tree. A dog. A cloud. Mean it.

2. #2

   Tell someone today something you genuinely appreciate about them. Not a compliment. Something real.

3. #3

   Find one thing in your immediate surroundings that is beautiful. Look at it for sixty seconds. Just that.

4. #4

   Call or text someone you have been meaning to reach out to for too long. Today is the day.

5. #5

   Make something with your hands today. It does not have to be good. It has to be made.

6. #6

   Laugh like crazy in public. If something strikes you as hysterical today — laugh. Out loud. Without explanation. Do not care what anyone thinks. If someone looks at you funny, wave and smile. That is the CC salute. They might just wave back.

7. #7

   Notice how many people you help today. It does not have to be big. Holding a door. Letting someone merge. Listening when someone talks. At the end of the day count them up.

8. #8

   When you are out at a restaurant — any restaurant — ask to speak to the chef when you are done eating. Tell them the meal was delicious. It might make their entire shift.

9. #9

   Ask the weirdest question you can think of. Keep it CC friendly. Do not Google it first. Ask your neighbors. You might start the best conversation of your week.

10. #10

    Do you know a funny dance? Film yourself doing it. Teach your neighbors. The caboose has a dance floor and it is always open.

11. #11

    When walking into a store and an employee says welcome — reply in a loud jovial voice: WELCOME TO YOU! Wave and smile. They might be CC. They might become CC.

12. #12

    When you spot a semi truck on the highway — roll down the window, make a fist, and pump your arm up and down vertically. This signals the driver to toot their horn. Do it until they toot. Then give them the CC salute.

13. #13

    Take your CC bubble gun out. Lower the car window on a busy road. Shoot bubbles out the window. If anyone looks at you — give them the CC salute. See if they salute back.

14. #14

    If you are driving and see a pedestrian who would like to cross the street — stop and let them cross. Then give them the CC salute. See if they return it.

15. #15

    Do a quick street interview with a stranger about something CC values-aligned that interests you. Start AND end with the CC salute. Teach it to them. Practice it together.

16. #16

    Blow bubbles out your car window on the highway. Watch what happens to the faces around you.

17. #17

    While you are on hold, do the following. Color in a coloring book. Take a look at a book that you have not looked at in many, many years. Scribble something funny and leave it for a friend. Write a letter. Then actually mail it to the person. Make yourself a cup of your favorite tea or coffee.

18. #18

    Pick a bunch of flowers from wherever, and then select a house that you think needs a decoration on its porch. Leave the flowers, ring the doorbell, and run away. That is called ding-dong ditching.

19. #19

    Create your own “God box.” Find a container, then write down your fears, hardships, and worries on a piece of paper. Put them in the God box and let them sit there for a while. Check the contents after a month or two, and see if you still feel the same way about the situation.

20. #20

    Send letters to companies that send you spam, and tell them about the caboose.

21. #21

    Create your own prayer or blessing. Share it with us on the Telegraph by emailing it to elleifrolics@gmail.com.

22. #22

    Text a bunch of people in your contacts and send them the CC Salute: 👋🤠

23. #23

    Celebrate ALL the holidays. Decorate for everything.

24. #24

    Cut or dye your hair, or at least part it on the other side or down the middle. Switch it up.

25. #25

    If you are really brave, get a tattoo or a piercing. If you are less brave, find a temporary tattoo.

26. #26

    Wear different colored clothing than you usually do.

27. #27

    With some friends, go to the thrift store and plan a scavenger hunt. Do not buy anything! Do the hunt, present your cart at the end, and entertain each other.

28. #28

    Try high heels, or flip-flops, or something in between.

29. #29

    Turn on music and dance while you cook or clean.

30. #30

    Host a party where there is a ceremony: a bonfire, a blessing, collage making, or vision board creation.

31. #31

    Make up a dance routine, then share it by sending it to elleifrolics@gmail.com.

32. #32

    Leave someone a funny voicemail.

33. #33

    Design a fun outgoing voicemail to replace the robot rattling off numbers or telling people you are not available.

34. #34

    Stand on a busy street corner and do the CC Salute: 👋🤠 See who does it back.

35. #35

    Take pictures of the CC Salute 👋🤠 and send them to elleifrolics@gmail.com, so we can put them up on the Howdy Wall.

36. #36

    If you work at a retail store, try doing the CC Salute 👋🤠 instead of saying “welcome in.” See what happens.

37. #37

    If you enter a store where you are greeted with “welcome in,” respond by saying “Welcome in to you!”

38. #38

    Practice your cackle, and do it in the presence of someone who says something you do not like.

39. #39

    Make a collage out of your junk mail, after reporting the spam to the company that sent it.

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