Every time I write about a national day, I use the resource Nationaldaycalendar.com. If it weren’t for this site, I would not have so many thoughtful topics to choose from. Over at nationaldaycalendar.com, they celebrate everyday and multiple occasions within the day. I am proud to be one of their ambassadors because it’s inevitable that every time I write about a national day, I bring awareness to someone who didn’t know that the day existed. I consider that a WIN because whenever there is awareness, thoughtfulness is sure to follow.

Nationally, there are many, what may seem trivial, reasons to celebrate everyday. Know this, at some point, someone felt that it was important enough to go through the process to register a day in order for it to be nationally recognized and celebrated. These national days don’t just show up on Google. With that said, I believe that celebrating a day about being thoughtful is worthy of national recognition. If we can celebrate silly, serious, good, bad, small, huge, complex, easy-going, specific or general national days, then celebrating a day that encompasses all of these adjectives at once would be awesome! The topic, the feeling and the value of being thoughtful is vast but that is why this national day would be wonderful for everyone to celebrate. By being thoughtful, one size does not have to fit all. In fact, the more unique the celebration, the better!

Below are my top 5 reasons we should have National Thoughtful Day:

1. Awareness. As I mentioned above, whenever awareness occurs, thoughtfulness is sure to follow. For example, if I mention that August 3rd is National Watermelon Day, one or more of the following thoughts may occur: a) we think about someone who loves watermelon. b) we think about someone who hates watermelon. c) we think about eating watermelon. d) since it is summer, we think about cute items in stores that have watermelon images on them. e) when we are grocery shopping, we make it a point to buy a watermelon because we think it would be fun to serve on watermelon day. f) we buy two watermelons because we think a neighbor, aunt or friend would also enjoy some. g) we think about watermelon recipes. h) we think we should share a watermelon recipe. i) we think about Harry Styles’ song Watermelon Sugar. j) we stop singing Watermelon Sugar so that we can peruse Pinterest because we think we will find fun things to help us celebrate this day. From this one example of awareness there are many different thoughts that can occur. The key word: THOUGHTS.

2. Reciprocity. A fancy term for what we give, we get back. We’re familiar with the quote by St. Francis of Assisi, “For it is in giving that we receive.” I do not set out to get anything back but somehow, the more I think of others, the reciprocity is felt in other ways. I have no empirical data to support my belief but I feel it. Just think, a day to celebrate being thoughtful could generate a whole slew of reciprocal kindness around the nation.

3. Interchange. Californians call flea markets, swap meets; where there are rows of vendors selling unique items and also many vendors selling the exact same items as fifty others. What is great about this concept is that there is something for everyone. Thoughtfulness is the same. We have unique ways of being thoughtful and we have ways of showing thoughtfulness exactly like everyone else and that is a good thing! If people celebrate a day of being thoughtful and use social media to show how they are celebrating, it would be a cool way to swap ideas from each other. In other words, there would be an interchange of information about being thoughtful.

4. Perspective. Every situation can have multiple ways of looking at it. A national day can be a day to be observed, ignored, useful or useless. No matter what perspective we may have about a national day, it’s healthy to welcome all opportunities in which we can express our perspectives. If we have the chance to express ourselves, we will grow. We learn, we lead, we inspire, we observe whenever we take personal inventory of ourselves. A day to recognize being thoughtful can allow us to exercise what we know, learn from and/or have time to figure out why being thoughtful is something we should or shouldn’t practice. It could be another window into our perspective.

5. Necessity. There is a need for positivity because much of our nation’s focus is on negative events. Unfortunately, I don’t think the scale will ever tip the other way. Therefore, we can never have too many positive messages in our lives. Celebrating a day of being thoughtful is another way to feel positive and promote positive actions. Of course, being thoughtful should not just be limited to one day a year but having a national day is a great way to get the momentum going. See below:

For recent national days such as Iced Tea, Postage Stamp, Hydration, Flip Flop, Sugar Cookie, Lollipop and Tequila - I put together thoughtful pinches to celebrate these days with friends and family. Since no one ever expects to receive my little gifts, I love making a positive impact on a someone’s day without any pressure to do so. Thoughtfulness is positive fun to celebrate all year long.

Below are my top 5 examples of how I would celebrate National Thoughtful Day.

1. I would write a card, call, text or email someone and tell them that I am thinking of them.

2. I would pass out thoughtful pinches, little gifts such as handkerchiefs, to random people.

3. If I was at a store on that day, I would look the cashier in the eyes and say, “It’s National Thoughtful Day and I hope you have a good one.”

4. I would use the Thoughtful Pinch App to let lots of people know they are being thought of.

5. I would post thoughtful quotes and/or share stories about thoughtful people on social media and of course use the hashtag #nationalthoughtfulday (followed by @natdaycal!)

I wish I didn’t have to limit things to my top 5 but I could go on and on about how I would celebrate this day and about why America (and the world) needs a Thoughtful Day. I know that I can’t be the only person out there that has a lot to say about this. For now, I will just make a plea. Nationaldaycalendar.com, please consider making Thoughtful Day a nationally recognized day so that each year on that day, we can all continue to spread the word about being thoughtful. I would love it if you could proclaim National Thoughtful Day! Oh and can I ask for one more tiny favor? Can we please celebrate this day on August 28th? Thank you!

Pinches,

Barb