Every day we are presented with little opportunities.

Chances to help people in ways that, although they may seem simple and insignificant, can really improve someone’s day. Little things like helping someone who is cold, being a shoulder to lean on, or making life easier for each other in minute ways all are so easy yet can be so vital. That little bit of support can be all it takes to make someone that much happier.

These little bits of our everyday lives not only affect us in our interactions with other people, but it can also spill over into how we affect the world around us by making conscious decisions. Some of the biggest ways we do this are just by paying more attention to how we get what we get. Or, to put it differently, focusing on who and where our products come from can make a big difference.

Taking that little bit of extra time to look at the places we get our food, our clothes, everything we buy can lead to a more sustainable lifestyle. By choosing to buy better products for the environment from more ethically sound places, we can end up improving not only our own lifestyle, but it can also come back to affect those around us. Things like shopping at local businesses and getting food from local farms can really help other people in our communities and can also lead to a healthier lifestyle overall.

All these little things, from helping each other directly and taking that time to think and to help, to taking that time to shop more consciously, and realizing how what we buy can affect how we live in much bigger ways than we initially expect. Each and every little decision is just part of being human, and even if only a few people start off making these decisions, that’s fine. Because those people will tell their friends, and then those friends tell others, and eventually enough people are living more consciously that it can lead to a more conscious world overall.

This video highlights these actions as well as the affects they have on others, and how those effects can come all the way back around to benefit us, making everyone’s lives just that little bit easier. From helping that stranger to shopping at a local business, paying your kindness forward can help to make the world a safer and more healthy place.

by Shay McHale
video by Meghan Marin + Kiara McDade