Today is significant, and not just because it kicks off Mary’s month of May and is a feast of St. Joseph (a special friend of mine).

Today is significant because it’s today, it’s a new chance and an opportunity.

Clearly, I’m full of motivational speak.

And those who know me are waiting for the eyeroll…

…but there is no eyeroll. (This time.)

One of my colleagues has a question that’s been on my mind: How would you rate today, on a scale of one to ten (ten being awesome and one being not)?

I’m not usually able to give a satisfactory answer (reference earlier comment about the eyeroll). However, after reading and thinking about one of Chris Lowney’s habits in Make Today Matter: 10 Habits for a Better Life (and World), I have a fresh set of inspirations.

Make Today Matter, by Chris Lowney, is a book that's more than just motivational-speak.

Lowney brings ten habits to the table, and while I was struck by them all, the one that I’d like to examine briefly today is one that resonated in a special way with me: Bring big heart every day.

“If you live with bighearted spirit,” Lowney writes, “you just might infect some of us with it too.”

It’s not so different from the advice that smiling can change your perception and feelings about things. (It can. I’ve tried it…even my sarcastic smile can nudge me!)

“We have some smarts, energy, free time, spare change, a social network, the world’s accumulated knowledge on our smartphones, and a touch of wisdom that we’ve gathered over the years,” Lowney encourages us.

It doesn’t mean you have to be all schmaltzy or fake. In fact, I’d like to think that the big heart I bring has…character. (Maybe a little too much, now that I think of it.)

For me, it comes back to the gratitude I feel about all God’s given me (even the crap, because that can be fertilizer, right?).

And on the days when I’m not feeling so bighearted?

Then I think of the people who have inspired me, who have helped me, who have stuck with me even when I’m the equivalent of a pantsless three-year-old refusing to sit on the potty. I think of the saints, like Mother Teresa, who smiled in the midst of the great poverty and utter hopelessness around her and made a small difference, knowing that difference was a difference. I think of the apostles, men who were not the sharpest knives in the drawer and yet called to great things.

So bring big heart. Every. Single. Day. Bless the mundane, embrace the ordinary, and let God use you.

For the record: The rest of Make Today Matter is good, too. 😉 You can also check out a sample chapter (including the habit I referenced).