![](https://i.imgur.com/Gj6u77i.jpg) *Amstel is rocking his holiday pajamas.* I’ve sponsored this *Pay It Forward For The Holidays* initiative on the blockchain now for the past six years. This year, like last, it’s needed more than ever. 2022 has been a continuation of the most challenging era most of us have ever lived through. We could use a little optimism and a little reminder that goodness still exists more than ever. When this initiative began back in 2016 I was just beginning to notice how the mainstream media was manipulating us with negativity and consumerism and how we could counteract it. After the past few years we’ve had it means so much more. Many people around us are struggling, many of them are doing so quietly and secretly. --- ![](https://media.giphy.com/media/DhpN6RfbLJHlDnykuT/giphy.gif) --- Through my social media pages I’m blessed to have a sizable global reach, my audience is an army of extremely kind-hearted people. It’s my wish to once again call you into action. The stories people have shared regarding this initiative in years' past are always the highlight of my holiday season. I’m a firm believer that there is still more good than bad in the world and, once again this year, I’d like to prove it. ## Your Participation Is Requested. ## --- What I'm proposing, if you can spare it, is to invest whatever you can afford in the goodness of humanity. Even if the act of kindness costs you nothing, like a compliment or offering to open a door for someone. Simply help a stranger you cross paths with. Anonymously pay for someone’s order in a drive-thru line at a restaurant, buy a hungry person a hot meal, drop off bags of groceries on the porch of someone less fortunate or simply hand someone a little cash and say Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, or whichever Holiday Greeting you prefer. It’s easy to forget that each of us are fighting a battle every day and, despite appearances, we have no idea what kind of struggles others are going through. This idea is very simple but it serves a twofold purpose. It may just help renew someone else’s faith in the goodness of humanity and, I promise, it will make you feel INCREDIBLE! This simple act will bring you much more joy than anything that the cash could purchase. In fact, this act of giving kindness might be the best gift you get this year. It's my personal goal to practice some act of kindness myself each day throughout the month of December. ## Keep it going! Please SHARE this post on Hive and other social media platforms. ## --- Let’s start a wave of light to drown out the darkness of this world, or maybe just cause us to forget about it for a little while. Thank you for your interest in my work this past year. Life has continued to take me further away from blogging this year, and I appreciate those who are still here with me. My belief in Hive and all of you has never wavered. I plan on being here, creating and curating, as long as people are willing to read my work. As the end of the year approaches I see that old familiar light of hope just on the horizon. 2023 is going to be another chance to the normalcy we all crave. May your Holidays be rich with all the things that truly matter. *Oh, and please join us in wishing our beagle, Amstel, a happy birthday! Our boy is fourteen on December 1st.* Again, I appreciate your continued support. I wish you and your families an amazing Holiday season. All for now. Trust your instincts, invest in you, live boldly, and take chances. ~Eric Vance Walton~ --- (Gif sourced from Giphy.com. Photo of Amstel, like him, is an original.) --- [![alt text](https://i.imgur.com/HxpLgqSl.jpg)](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B095HXB8WQ) Poetry should move us, it should change us, it should glitch our brains, shift our moods to another frequency. Poetry should evoke feelings of melancholy, whimsy, it should remind us what it feels like to be in love, or cause us to think about something in a completely different way. I view poetry, and all art really, as a temporary and fragile bridge between our world and a more pure and refined one. This is a world we could bring into creation if enough of us believed in it. This book is ephemera, destined to end up forgotten, lingering on some dusty shelf or tucked away in a dark attic. Yet the words, they will live on in memory. I hope these words become a part of you, bubble up into your memory when you least expect them to and make you feel a little more alive. [Pick up a copy of Ephemera today on Amazon.](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B095HXB8WQ) --- --- [![alt text](https://i.imgur.com/b5U8dqm.jpg?1)](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08PJPWK2W/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) Most of us have experienced a moment of perfect peace at least once in our lives. In these moments we lose ourselves and feel connected to everything. I call these mindful moments. Words can’t describe how complete they make us feel. These moments are usually fragile, evaporating in seconds. What if there was a way to train your mind to experience more of them? It’s deceptively easy and requires nothing more than a subtle shift in mindset. My new book, [Mindful Moments](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08PJPWK2W/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1), will teach you to be much more content despite the chaos and imperfect circumstances continuing to unfold around you. Upgrade your life experience today for only $15.99 on Amazon.com. --- --- # Let’s Keep In Touch # ![](https://i.imgur.com/TjeTnuH.jpg) [www.ericvancewalton.net](http://www.ericvancewalton.net) ![](https://i.imgur.com/aieouS5.png)