Today I’ll be sharing with you my experience as a participant (thank you Sherry Richert Belul!) in Plant a Kiss Day this past Sunday, and would love for you to join in the festivities.
Before I get into my own experience, here’s a little background. Plant a Kiss Day was created to celebrate the message of Amy Krouse Rosenthal’s sweet new book “Plant a Kiss,” a “journey about life, kindness, and giving,” illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds (available at Amazon).
In the spirit of the book, 16 inspiring and creative bloggers (whom I am honored to join – these are some seriously fabulous women) set out to “Plant a Kiss” in the world on Sunday, April 29. We each did something we thought would spread a little extra joy, color, connection, poetry, or magic in the world. Today each of us is posting about that experience. Click here to visit the main Plant a Kiss page, where you can link to all participating bloggers. For every blog you visit and comment on, your name will be tossed into a hat for a chance to win one of a ton of great prizes, including online writing, photography, or dream-building classes; coaching sessions; artwork, or jewelry.
A "tattoo" to keep the day's theme of joy front and center
My Plant a Kiss Day Experience…
The idea of this day instantly resonated with me. Through the lenses of mindfulness and coaching, I think of everything we do as planting seeds – in the form of the thoughts we think, the words we speak, and the actions we take. If we look closely, we understand that we do in fact reap what we sow. Maybe not instantaneously, but eventually, and without fail. Now I don’t mean this in the sense of, “Be nice so you don’t have bad karma,” which misses the mark. I mean it as a simple observation of cause and effect. What we think leads to how we feel, which leads to how we act, which leads to how people respond to us and how circumstances align themselves around us, which either prompts us to continue with or alter our behavior (if we’re able to pay enough attention to catch what’s really going on in the moment), and so on.
So I love the concept of not merely giving a kiss, but of planting one. Because that really is what we’re doing day in and day out with our thoughts and our actions, is planting the beginning of something. It’s not a question of whether things will sprout from the seeds we plant in our daily lives; it’s merely a question of what types of things will sprout. And this is where awareness comes in. Because the more conscious of and intentional about the types of seeds we plant we are, the better shot we have at growing a vast, luscious garden rather than a tiny plot of gnarled weeds.
One of my favorite mindfulness teachers, James Baraz, puts this so well in his book Awakening Joy: “You can’t make joy or wellbeing happen, but you can help create the conditions in which those states more naturally arise.”
And that’s what jumped out at me as the primary theme for my personal Plant a Kiss Day, was joy. Because to me, it seems that we crave and pursue things like beauty, creativity, and connection because they bring us joy. I love the Merriam-Webster definition of joy as “a source or cause of delight.”
So I woke up earlier than usual before my coffee shop shift on Sunday to spend some time setting and sitting with my intention of joy for the day. I wrote it out on a card: “May every moment today be colored by joy.” Which intention by extension, then, would be for all the moments of my Plant a Kiss Day to be sources or causes of delight.
I did some soil-tilling to help the seeds of the day’s delight take root. I carried the card with my intention on it in my pocket all day. 
I stamped the letters J-O-Y on the inside of my wrist. I set bells on my phone to go off throughout the day reminding me to, as Ralph Waldo Emerson once worded it, “Scatter joy.” I plotted out time every few hours from the time I woke up to sit for 15 minutes and practice heart-centered Metta (lovingkindness), with a special emphasis on the “May I/you/we be happy” piece for the day. I stayed cozy with gratitude, constantly keeping an eye out for what was good or kind or beautiful or fortunate during the day.
In addition to the inner “priming,” I offered up some delight-enhancing actions during the day as well. At the coffee shop we welcomed the day with a coffee mug toast. I’d found some stickers in my desk and added them to the hot chocolate cups of a few little girls to much apparent delight. I made a point of checking in with customers who seemed like they could use a little extra connection that day. A bouquet of flowers a coworker hadn’t wanted fell to me, and I offered them to a stranger in a parking lot who delightedly accepted, saying she loved flowers, especially tulips.
James Baraz says that creating the conditions for joy to naturally arise “starts with allowing yourself to be right where you are.”
And that’s what really struck me on Sunday. That when we focus on just this moment, joy naturally flows more freely. But when we focus our attention on joy (or kindness or beauty or connection…), we naturally feel more present, too.
So which comes first? And does it matter?
I think what does matter is that when we set an intention to appreciate the good in the world and in our lives, we truly start to see it everywhere. And then we start to feel joy and peace and gratitude more and more often and more and more authentically.
On Plant a Kiss Day it was clearly evident that I couldn’t make myself be joyful 100% of the moments of my day. There were certainly instances where I could have been kinder or more generous, or sought out or welcomed more connection. But I also palpably experienced more joy – in me and in others – that day than I normally might have experienced.
3-year-old nephew's birthday card version of me he shared on Sunday
Playing peek-a-boo with my baby niece or giving my nephew a piggy-back ride were experiences perhaps infused with a bit more delight than they would have normally had. Maybe I verbalized more gratitude to family members who that day happened to be getting together to celebrate my birthday than I would normally have expressed.
Plant a Kiss Day reminded me how powerful it is to be intentional with the types of seeds we plant during our days, which, over time, grow into the gardens of our lives. Yes, we slip into a sleepy, habitual state from time to time. That’s how we humans are wired. But we’re also wired with an immense capacity for joy and kindness and generosity. And Plant a Kiss Day reminded me of how simple yet profound it is to set an intention, and to simply practice returning to it when we stray away from it, and to bring ourselves back with compassion again and again and again. Because if we stay the course – if we practice “planting kisses” – we get really good at planting positive seeds. And how different might our world be if everyone out there could be reminded in repeated simple ways that they have the capacity to grow gorgeous gardens simply by paying attention and staying committed to their positive intentions?
Amy Krouse Rosenthal’s Plant a Kiss, and the thoughtful intentions and actions of people like Sherry Richert Belul and the bloggers involved in Plant a Kiss Day, serve as great fertilizer to nurture things along.
Here’s to making planting kisses a daily practice.
With lots of love (and joy and delight),
Melissa
this is beautiful xx
Thank you Lynne!
Joy and peace flow through me as I read your post. This moment of pure joy/peace. ahh. Thank you for Planting a Kiss for me today – and reminding me to be mindful of this moment. Now. of Joy. xxx
Wow, Beth. Thank you. You know what’s so amazing? Reading YOUR words here made me feel a present-moment, deeply felt sense of peace and joy right now, too. We just keep getting and giving the gentle reminder to be here now and enjoy it. Thank you for being another reminder!
I really like this thought – the intent of joy. It is so important and congrats to you for your efforts to be more joyful with those all around you.
Thank you so much Jeanne. I’m wishing you a day filled with whatever type of joy happens to appear for you.
I hope you find joy as well!
Thank you Jenn!
This was so thoughtfully written that you have planted the kiss within my own day – thank you!
I’m so glad Sara! Thank you for sharing.
love!! you bring joy to this world every single day – thankyou :)
xx
So do you Stef! Thank you.
what a beautiful day of joy. i love how you focused and how it little things opened up to you as well….like the flowers that you gave away. so magical.
Thank you Jennifer! And I love your observation – it’s true, there are so many “little things” that do open up to us when we really pay attention. And we start there.
What a great idea!
Glad it resonated!
sounds like you (and others) had a very lovely and joy*filled day! :)
Indeed! So nice to be reminded we can set out to have a joy-filled day and watch it become our reality. Thank you for being a part of Plant a Kiss Day Kristina!
Mmmm–Plant a Kiss day– no better talisman of life celebration can I imagine. May 1st, a day to remember, actively, that planting seeds of joy and love is why we are here, and those who are not, are fertilizer for our souls- so that we may plant more. The more care-full the gardener, the more (purple) flowers to enjoy. I needed an extra reminder of that today. Thank you dear one for, as always, looking in and sharing brightly and broadly the luminosity you find within. Now, what to plant..
You are such a gift, Perth. ” The more care-full the gardener, the more (purple) flowers to enjoy” – you got it, girl. Sending love to you (always :)).
Really enjoyed your post. I too practice mindfulness (sometimes:) and delight in the small moments of deep joy- in the simplicity of being present and the joy, inspiration and beauty all around me. Thanks for more great ideas on how to “Be” more:)
When it comes down to it, we all really only practice mindfulness sometimes, right? But when we get there, it can be so sweet, can’t it?! Thank you for sharing this, Carolyn. Here’s to more “being.”
So beautifully written. I love that you acknowledge that we can’t be at 100% all the time, but that we can live with intent and reflect on our days. Kindness. Intent. Joy. Beautiful.
Good-hearted intent and reflection – in the end, we can’t really ask much more from ourselves, can we? Thank you so much for sharing and reflecting here together.
“scatter joy” – love it! radiate metta and scatter joy. :)
thanks for sharing.
I love that, “radiate metta and scatter joy”…that’s the sweet spot :) Thank you for framing it that way and sharing, Alison!
The concept of “allowing yourself to be right where you are” is something I am going to sit with. Thank you!
PS: I don’t know if you realize how much “connection” is part of your definition of Joy. Just an observation for you :)
Yes, the practice of allowing ourselves to be right where we are…lots of layers with that one – plenty to sit with there! And thank you for the connection observation. It’s true, for me connection is central to joy, whereas what has a ring of joy to someone else may be utterly different. I think as we get better at being where we are, without judgment, joy comes through in all kinds of interesting ways, unique from person to person. Thank you for sharing, Lizzy, and I’d love to hear what comes up for you as you sit with this!
I appreciate that you set your intentions early in the day and gave yourself reminders throughout the day to notice if you were on course or if your path needed adjustment.
As good as any intentions are our focus can slip when life happens around (and to) us.
It sounds as if you brightened up many lives with your planting.
It’s true, we have a tendency to kind of wander away from our intentions as we get caught up in…well…life. The returning to it is, I believe, the important part. Thank you for sharing here!
I love the idea of taking a day to plant intentionally…. or a week…or a year. The concept of scattering joy can only bring more joy to us and all those around us.
And imagine a whole life – or many lives lived by many people – lived with lots of intentional “planting”! Thanks for joining in the conversation.
I love this post. Thank you for the beautiful reminders.
Thank you.♥
Love,
Jen
Thank you Jen! So glad it resonated.
A joyful expression of a day that brought so much joy to so many. I’m trying to keep the spirit going for all time… thanks for your clear and simple message!
Here’s to keeping the spirit of the day with us every day! Thank you for sharing in the experience.
So uplifting. Thanks for sharing!
Ali! So glad you found this uplifting – thank YOU for sharing, and I hope you are happy and healthy.
“Here’s to making planting kisses a daily practice.” I’ll toast to that! This was a thoughtful and insightful post, and if nothing else, I am grateful for the Plant a Kiss project to alert me to the presence of such wonderful people as yourself. Thank you!
And I’m grateful to know of such wonderful people as yourself, Cheryl! Thank you so much for the kind words and for sharing in this experience. The kissing theme is still with me a few days later, so, so far so good… :) Wishing you many “kisses”!
I especially appreciated the way you emphasized the value of “planting” over simply “giving”. :)
Thank you Lene. Planting allows for more sustainable giving, right?!
I love the idea of planting a kiss and returning to this place to water, nurture, and harvest whats next to come. Thank you, Melissa.
COB, you plant so many kisses every day, and do loads of watering and nurturing. That being the case, I foresee lots of sweet harvests for you comin’ up in all kinds of ways. Thank you, as always, for your support. A big smooch to you!
Beautiful post about mindfullness and intention. I love how this post is so full of kisses!
I love how you made that card: “May every moment today be colored by joy.”
I love the stickers with the hot chocolate.
I love the flowers for the stranger.
I love the extra-special peek-a-boo fun.
Was Sunday your birthday????
Thank you for being so willing to join in this. I appreciate who you are so much!
xo
Thank you Sherry, for the kind words, and for the inspiration for this entire celebration. Being a part of this event has been a true gift. Thank you for bringing people together in such joyful ways, in so many ways…and my birthday was the 25th, but family celebration happened to fall on Plant a Kiss Day, making it extra sweet :)
Just simply to much fun. Blessings and great Job
Thank you Leah!!
Joy in the little things. A simple reminder to pay attention to what I can do with what I have to spread love and light. Thanks.
Well said, Jessica – paying attention to what we can do to spread love and light with what we have to work with, that’s totally it. Thank you for sharing, and I’m sending some love and light your way!
I have been circling around the blog hop, loving all the kisses planted. Each is different, yet each has been such a joy to read. I love how keeping the joy in mind can color the whole day.
I love that, Laurie – thank you. May your day(s) be colored by lots of joy.
Thanks for the inspiration to turn my day around. Setting my intent now… and go!
How fabulous, Kari – thank you!
May all that lives, be happy & well! Peace to all the world!
I love how you planted kisses all day long, simply by cultivating the right conditions for kisses to exist :-)
So perfectly said, Marissa! Thank you for sharing, and wishing you lots of ripe conditions for “kisses” yourself.
This project is so beautiful. I’ve loved reading of everybody’s contributions!
Thank you for sharing with your own contribution, Tina!
beautiful post, beautiful project. so glad to know about your blog through it! :)
Amy
Thank you so much for sharing in the experience with us, Amy!
I love it! I love your interpretation….planting seeds for *deeper* experiences of joy and sharing…making them possible on into the future. YES! <3
Thank you for joining in the “planting” Julia! Enjoy the process!
Oh!!! Such a lovely project as well as an AWESOME way to meet so many creative bloggers! Thank You for inspiring me!!!
So glad you joined us in the awesomeness Debra! Thank you, and be well.
I think Plant a Kiss Day | Live Well Coaching is a nice blog post and you do a nice job of writing detailed information. Thomas – http://www.ep2p4u.com