Tuesday, November 09, 2010

Volunteering: Good for your Mood


I have the post-Halloween blues. Halloween is my favorite major holiday. (All of you who prefer other holidays, go ahead and freak out. To each their own.) Now that I've carved pumpkins, dressed up in a costume, eaten more candy than I should have and watched lots of fun, scary movies, I'm left feeling a little blah, like my aura has turned dingy-beige. Perhaps this is a prolonged post-sugar-rush crash, perhaps a touch of pre-seasonal affective disorder, but I feel less than shiny-happy-sparkly.

The thoughts that put a pep in my step involve the kittens that I and other volunteers care for at Austin Pets Alive. Feeding these little fuzzballs, snuggling these miniature purr-monsters and even cleaning up after these mobilized happiness-spreaders makes me feel better. I can't hold a pudgy, purring kitten and be unhappy at the same time. These states are mutually exclusive.

More than any other volunteer activity I've ever done, caring for kittens warms my soul.

Find a volunteer activity you love. The pay is amazing!