In the book “The Transparent Self,” author Sydney Jourard writes, “As soon as we become more transparent, we start to feel better.” In the spirit of this quote, I encourage you to put into mindful practice the concept of transparency. In so doing, look for an opportunity for an act of kindness and then complete it.

Is it by being honest with someone when your temptation is to talk around the truth? If so, be honest using intelligence and tact. Is it by being honest with yourself, perhaps by recognizing a problem rather than pretending there isn’t one? Or by saying no when you really want to say no, instead of saying yes?

Practice being transparent in your interactions.

I believe that those things that “catch our hearts” are intended to teach us something, even if it is something as simple as taking time to pay attention. For instance, for me this week something that stood out was a thank you I received at the end of the school day on Thursday. I wrote about it on my personal blog.

But it wasn’t just that thank you I received that caught my heart. It was the story told in the comments section of my blog. Someone took to heart my suggestion to thank someone and in the end is going to help her sister complete something extraordinarily difficult.

I encourage you to read that comment. To me, at least, it’s remarkable.

The business world has commandeered the remarkability concept and for good reason. 21st entrepreneurs are often those who do something ordinary in an extraordinary way. In fact, that may be the best business advice you’ll ever get from me (I mean, isn’t a cell phone just an extraordinary telephone?).

Anyway, from the business world we are getting advice on how to be remarkable and I’m using this one as this week’s inspiration.

This week, the mid-point for this class, do the small things in a way that will have someone with whom you come in contact want to talk about you around his dinner table. You’ve done it, haven’t you? Talked about someone at dinner who in some way stood out for your during the day? The bus driver who sang out the stops, the grocery store bagger who truly engaged you in conversation, the driver who stopped to let the family of ducks cross the road? Be that person for someone else this week. Behave in a way that inspires people to remark about you. Be remarkable.

Applied to our actions, this requires us to be mindful. If we want daily balance we need to work to create it for ourselves. That means paying attention to when we are out of balance, specifically as it pertains to negative energy, thoughts and actions.

I believe that our natural “in balance” selves are peaceful. Believing that, it’s even more important to respond peacefully to negative situations, both those I create and those I encounter.