Editors Note: What does it mean when someone says they want to go out and find inner peace?  Do they actually have go somewhere, or is this peace within us right now but we just haven’t allowed ourselves to recognize it?  In this article we invite you to take a look at the beauty, peace, and joy that you already have in your life and let go of the external search for at least one week. ~Nitika~

When trying to decide what to write about for this month, I started shuffling through my brain’s where-to-go and what-to-do archives. Being out and about in my city, what does that mean to me? I quickly realized that what often brings me the greatest joy is not a result of going to a particular location or engaging in a particular activity. My happiness and my peace are born from the in-between moments that happen along the journey, those pumpkin-pie-crust tastes that start with a (metaphorical) spoon and end with a smile. That’s what I want to share with you, my tips for filling yourself up with abundance and gratitude while hopping around in your world, the peace in-between.

We are equals

We walk, chat, think, sing, and move quickly. We’re New Yorkers. We’re always looking ahead. But, what happens when we look to the side, down, and quickly catch the eye of a homeless person? Do we feel awkward and look away? Do we stare and judge? Do we dismiss before engaging?

My suggestion is to stop right where you, then gaze and act compassionately and patiently. You may assume that he is a drug addict who only wants cash for his next high, a lazy bum who could just hustle himself into a job, or some such stereotype that we have about the homeless population. For this moment, at least, please release that assumption. We all feel pain, experience laughter, go through challenging times, and should enjoy the comforts of life. We are equals.

If you have loose change in your pocket, a granola bar, a piece of fruit, or a beverage, then I encourage you to give it to the person. You don’t have to do this from a place of pity or disgust but rather from a space inside of you that believes in the contagious energy of prosperity and the great equilibrium of opportunity where we all live. Give to give to give to express to the universe that we’re all connected. This beautiful human being on the street could be you, your child, your brother, the every-man, the no-man. Give because it’s what we were born to do. Then open yourself up to the relief and ease you feel. Giving is receiving. They are one in the same.

You have two hands, so use them

How many times have we seen an elderly person struggle down the sidewalk with too many grocery bags? Or, thought about helping a busy mother with her stroller because she already has a second child in her arms?

If you’re blessed with two hands, two legs, and a healthy body, then I dare you to go use it, in all the ways you can to do all the good you can. Go out of your way to be of service to those around you. When you see a pregnant woman get on the subway, stand up and offer her your seat and then ask if she needs help getting off at her stop. If you see a weary traveler with a heavy suitcase, then don’t just watch her breaking her back to lug it up the stairs. Grab one end and lighten her load. I promise you that lightening her load will lighten your load. When we donate our natural selves to a cause outside of who we are then we are implicitly declaring, “I’m here, I’m in this adventure of my life, and I want to actively participate. I surrender.”

Get in the game

Don’t sit on the sidelines of life. There are people all around us, needing, wanting, working, loving, crying, and moving forward. It is all too easy to wrap ourselves up in the comfortably, and perhaps dysfunctional, soap opera of our own lives. So, please, switch the channel and be the beauty that we can experience when we give of who we are without expectation for anything in return. You will find that the gift will become you.