Happy Tuesday, and welcome back to Positive DONUT!

 As I was taking my daily stroll around my NYC neighborhood yesterday, I practiced staying truly present and taking in everything around me. And wow, did it change my perspective and help me tap into my gratitude. I noticed the spring flowers bursting up from the ground, the green leaves returning to the trees, and the way the Sun felt on my skin after a cold winter. 

As I was walking in gratitude, I couldn't help but feel thankful for all of you and the community we've built here in this little corner of the internet. It's a joy each week sharing this slice of positivity with you, and I hope you enjoy reading Positive DONUT as much as I enjoy putting it together. 

If you have half-an-hour this week, take a walk! And stay as present as you can – you'll be surprised how grounded and grateful it can make you feel🥰.

Have a wonderful rest of your week! 

- Kailyn

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today's newsletter should take ~3.08 minutes to read (820 words).

Take your pick! :

I am worthy of love and happiness

Every day, in every way, I'm getting better and better

I believe in my abilities and can achieve anything I set my mind to

I am right where I'm supposed to be

Six years ago, paramedic Kristi Hadfield saved John Cunningham's life. 

The loving father had gone into cardiac arrest. And when Kristi found herself riding in the back of the ambulance with him, she did everything she could to keep him hanging on – including restarting his heart with CPR when it stopped beating. "Not today, John," Kristi recalled saying, channeling Arya Stark. "Not today."

Thankfully, John made a full recovery from the incident, and the pair have kept in touch via social media ever since.

John's daughter, Molly Jones, also friend-requested Kristi after his medical scare. “We live in a very small town," she shared. "I wanted to know who saved my dad." 

It wasn't until a few years later, however, when Molly posted on Facebook asking for help, that Kristi would have another opportunity to save a life. 

The story: Molly was experiencing kidney failure and desperately needed a transplant. 

The 42-year-old mom was working full-time, coaching her daughter's soccer team, and living an all-around healthy lifestyle when she was told her kidneys were failing. Dialysis would buy her some time – but a transplant could save her life.

Within hours of Molly posting about her need for a donor, Kristi responded and asked how to find out if she was a match. Turns out, the women were the same blood type. 

• Fast-forward a few months, and Kristi officially donated one of her kidneys to Molly, saving her life and buying her more time with her young daughter and Dad – whom Kristi had saved six years earlier.

❤️ Bottom line: Molly and Kristi hope their story inspires other people to consider organ donation. 

• “Please don’t take your organs to heaven,” Molly wrote on Facebook. “Heaven knows we need them here! Kristi, I love you forever for saving my life!”
• "I'm glad to have her in my heart and I'm glad if somebody had my kidney, she's the one that has it," Kristi said. “I don’t see it as anything brave – just what we should do." 

Vegetables, early morning exercise, self-help books. Often what’s best for us is the least enjoyable – until now.

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Whether for spiritual, scientific, or simply "they look really cool" reasons, seeing the aurora borealis (Northern Lights) is a bucket list item for many people. 

✅ Bucket list, met: These lights exploded across the sky in locations further south than usual this past weekend thanks to a massive solar flare, with the phenomenon able to be seen as far as the Gulf Coast, with pink, green and purple skies also reported in Florida, Texas and Alabama.

👁️ An eye for an art... Photographer Andriana Green creates stunning art pieces using an interesting subject: extreme close-ups of people's eyes.

🐶 A star is born... Marvel fans are gearing up for one of the most anticipated movies of the year: Deadpool & Wolverine, starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman. But another star is ready to grace our silver screens in the film: Britain's "Ugliest Dog" contest winner, a pug and Chinese Crested mix named Peggy. 

🚌 A quick-thinking hero... Fourteen-year-old Acie Holland III sprang into action earlier this month when his bus driver fell unconcious, steering the school bus full of students away from oncoming traffic. "Sometimes, you just do what you have to do,” said the teen. “I’m just being me.”

Below you'll find two meditations to choose from. Whether you have half-an-hour to spare or only a quick five minutes, taking time to slow down and re-center yourself is never a bad idea.

Get ready to feel the zen😌.

1. All Is Well (5 mins)
2. Guided Higher Self Meditation (30 mins)

Let me know which one you choose. And enjoy!

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Welcome to What's Your Win, the section of Positive DONUT where we get to celebrate all of the good news happening right here in our community. Big or small, there's something to celebrate each day. 

Check out the wins we received this week!

🥳 Lorena B. from Ruidoso, New Mexico, is celebrating her sober birthday...

• "Alcohol was always a part of my life. It had gotten to the point it was the only thing that I truly fought for. Until I asked my dad, who passed away in 2020, to help me. After a month in the hospital, and now 10 months 10 days of sobriety, I am celebrating the first alcohol-free birthday since I was a teenager. I can try to find the words, but no combination...could express my gratitude and amazement that I feel. I am in awe sometimes at how much time, but in the same moment blown away that it's only been this short amount of time... 10 months is a sliver and a mountain to me. I have so many more moments to look forward to that will replace the hurt from my past. I'm learning to learn from every experience and move on. So here's to me and my 1st sober birthday!!!" 

🎵 Secondly, I have a personal win to share!

• For those of you who don't know, I work as a professional vocalist outside of my work here at The DONUT. Life as an artist can be tough (the "starving artist" expression is no joke...), but over the last two months. I've booked two steady performing gigs that have me singing regularly and making a living from my voice. On top of teaching voice lessons and these new gigs, I've been able to support myself through my music and writing – something that's been my dream since I was a little girl. It hasn't been easy, and I know there is still so much more to come, but I'm grateful every day to be living my dream! I need to remember the years and years I dreamed of this being my reality. Young Kailyn would be so proud ⬇️🥰.

+ Editor's Note: Responses have been slightly edited for length and clarity.

🥹 Can I be real with you? "What's Your Win" really is my favorite part of the newsletter. When I started brainstorming Positive DONUT three years ago, this section was one of the first things on my vision board; I wanted a place where people could feel safe and supported to share their day-to-day wins with a community of like-minded and positive individuals. How special is that? 

However, we've been struggling lately to get new submissions. So let me know – is there anything we could do to this section to improve? 

• Would it be helpful to submit your wins anonymously, or maybe a specific prompt would be more helpful to get those creative juices flowing? We'd hate to scrap this section, but with 20,000+ of you, we need your help to revive it! 

🙏 TYSM in advance. I read every response and appreciate any feedback you may have🥰.

And, while we're on the topic, submit your wins here to be featured in next week's newsletter. It can be something as simple as cleaning your room all the way up to a huge work promotion or engagement – like high-stakes poker, the win limits do not exist! 

Submit your win(s) here.

1. Which two countries faced off in the 2022 FIFA World Cup Final?
2. Who is the most followed person on Instagram?
3. The Statue of Liberty was a gift to the US from which country? 
4. In the movie Frozen, what is the name of the reindeer?
5. In what year was the first Apple iPod released?

👆 Check out the referral prizes you can get, just for introducing people you know to little old us. 

What to do: Copy your unique link below, then send it to anyone who you think would like Positive DONUT. Once you hit each milestone, you'll get an email with a link to claim your prize.

Start referring.👇

1. Argentina vs. France ⚽️ 
2. Cristiano Ronaldo (over 629 million)📱
3. France🗽 
4. Sven ❄️
5. 2001 🎵 

Hit that reply button and let me know, I read every response. Have a great week!🥰

–Kailyn

P.S. Enjoying this newsletter and want to support my work? It'd mean the world if you told a friend or two about Positive DONUT. You can even win sweet, sweet prizes for each person you refer using your unique link (found two sections above).