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Ups and downs! Twists and turns! Life has an amazing way of hurling curveballs at us in a very Days Of Our Lives-esque fashion, and it's a process that could often be compared to receiving gifts: some we wish we could exchange, some we wish we could return, some are exactly what we we needed and some exceed even our greatest expectations. But in the midst of life's less-than-fabulous moments (accidentally jamming your fingers into the car door; losing your wallet; realizing that you SHOULD have purchased that one-of-a-kind necklace overseas when you saw it, because you certainly can't find anything like it now!), the fact remains that for the duration of our individual journeys, the bulk of our lives are fairly charmed. Sure, we may not all dwell in million-dollar resorts, have access to multi-story wardrobes or dine on a daily feast of caviar or champagne, but whilst we have a roof over our heads, clean water and a bed to tuck ourselves into every night, it's important to retain an appreciative perspective and, armed with such knowledge, to consider how we can give back to the world to demonstrate our gratitude, and to ensure that our positive occurences only continue to grow. The impact that donating and volunteering can formulate are phenomenal, but we don't always have the time/resources to assist in this area. Here are some additional suggestions on how to say thank-you to the universe and generate change.. and I would love to hear yours!

x As A Friend..

x How often do you swill coffee from the same cafe' each time you meet-up for a chat? Or visit the same shopping haunts? Or guzzle cocktails from the same bar? Why not try meeting at a completely different location, or planning an adventure together that you've always wanted to try, such as hot-air ballooning, attending an evening cooking class or bungee jumping? It'll invigorate your friendship and you'll have delicious memories to revisit for years to come. x Remember eachothers' birthdays.. and honour them regardless of your different geographical locations! (Whether it's in the form of a card, a phone call or a present!) It can often be confronting to realize that your age has magically increased overnight on this particular ocassion, and EVERYONE wants to feel special on their days of days!

x As A Partner..

x The nicest (or at least, my favourite!) compliment that my boyfriend ever bestowed upon me was ''thank-you for inspiring me.'' While it was only a simple statement, it meant the world to me, and reminded me of just how important it is to encourage our partners as much as we would like to be inspired ourselves. Stick your favourite uplifting quotes inside his or her car/kitchen/bedroom, make them an alphabetical list of the reasons why you think they're special, discuss their dreams regularly, and ask them what they'd like to achieve and how to make them a reality. x Surprise them with flowers, a cooked meal or dessert for no reason.

x As An Employee..

x Co-workers are very rarely going to be your favourite people in the world, but it doesn't matter: greet everyone with a smile each day (regardless of whether or not you've contemplated firing staples at them!) and offer to assist busy colleagues wherever possible. x Make an effort to learn as much as you can. x Suggest fun activities to complete as a team, such as baking cupcakes for Cupcakes For The RSCPA Day, wearing jeans for Jeans For Genes Day, or organising a jellybean-guessing competition and donating the profits to a charity of your choice! x Nominate a day of the week to act as a multi-cultural food festival, and ask each staff member to bring a plate of food in a tribute to that particular country, such as a Mexican feast on Thursdays! x Create a lolly jar for your desk, and invite employees to stop by whenever they're needing a sugar fix.

x As A Student..

x Classmate skipped a day of study? Lessen their ''I'm sorry, but I just wanted to stay home and watch Dr. Phil!'' guilt the next day by picking up an extra copy of notes for them. x Bring snacks in (recommended: chocolate frogs, chips or fruit platters!) and present them late in the day to combat afternoon slumps. x Create dress-ups days! In a previous course, my classmates and I decided to allocate themes for each day: Wear-Orange Monday, Crazy-Hat Tuesdays, Fairytale-Wednesdays and so on..

x As A Blogger..

x Support eachother! Trade website links with your favourite bloggers, visit the list of links on other bloggers' websites to discover new Internet gems, follow eachother on Twitter  (and on that note, RT eachothers' tweets if you think their latest musing or posting is spot-on!) and try to provide assistance wherever possible. The superb Kate of Tres Lola is particularly terrific in this area: she frequently endeavours to help those that are CSS-incompetent online, and has even offered to build contacts websites before! (Myself included.) LOVELY. x Adhere to the Official Unofficial Commenting Creed when trawling through articles: ''if you like it then you should've put a comment on it!'' (Sorry Beyonce. I TOTALLY rearranged the lyrics to Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)!) x Offer giveaways, competitions or leftover magazines: Em of Lick My Cupcakes regularly initiates wonder on her blog by creating presents for her readers (in the height of my plastic-dinosaur-as-good-luck-charms obsession, she once sent me a bag full of them, as well as a handmade, glittery, dripped-in-pearls Valentine's Day Card!), and Sarah Hannah recently completed her own gesture of excellence by announcing that she'd happily send her copy of Dolly's bonus Twilight magazine to any Bella and Edward fans: mega impressive.

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More ideas? Bring them on!

(Images thanks to Tookie.)