When you don't know...

When you don't know what purpose your life serves

When you don't know if you make a bit of difference

When you don't know what the point is of getting up in the morning

When you don't know why you're here

watch this video 

When to sugarcoat

sug·ar·coat

 transitive verb \ˈshu̇-gər-ˌkōt\

: to talk about or describe (something) in a way that makes it seem more pleasant or acceptable than it is

"Don't sugar-coat it. Give it to me straight!"

We've all said or heard similar sentiments at one time or another. We often don't want people to gloss over hard truths. We want to get to the meat of the situation, see what we're really dealing with, handle it, and move on.

So then, when, if ever, is it appropriate to sugarcoat things?  The video below shows the creation of a simple confection: cotton candy. But rather than just cranking out yet another cocoon of spun sugar, the vendor takes the extra time and goes to the extra effort of creating a delightful work of art. And what girl doesn't appreciate having a kind man give her a flower?!

The same care and thoughtfulness can go into everything we do in our daily round. Kindness needn't be laborious... but even if it is, so what?  There is more to life than multi-tasking, hyper-efficiency, carb-cutting, calorie-counting, penny scrimping, and living in a mild sense of self-induced deprivation.  The investment you make by adding the sprinkles to the ice cream cone, delivering breakfast in bed, running an errand for a loved one even though it's out of the way and you're exhausted... these investments bring in a return that is instant as well as compounding. Plus, it feels good!

What ways can you set your creativity and thoughtfulness loose on those around you?  Who knows, you may do something that inspires people and ends up going viral on Youtube too!