Thank goodness for the leap second; a second outside of planning, outside of routine, outside of trials and concerns. At 3:59:59 local time on December 31^st, we get an extra second, thanks to the slight fluctuation of Earth’s rate of spin, and I’m going to take that second to make the life of nearest person to me a little bit easier.
Inspired by groups like Random Acts, the Navy Marine Corps Relief Society, and GISHWHES team BeeSquadron, it won’t matter who that person is, whether I know them at all, or what they need to make that second go by more smoothly. I will do something for that person, or for a group, if I can, that will make that second stand out as one in which things got better, life’s difficulties were eased, and people worked together for the good of all.
I am embracing this plan because it lets me feel prepared to not waste my second, but it also leaves me free to embrace all the other 86,400 seconds in that day without feeling like I’m going to miss my chance to make 3:59:60 count. Wherever I am, where ever my day has taken me, in the middle of the afternoon, I will turn to the nearest person or people and find a way to improve their day.
Maybe it’ll take more than one second to complete the action, and that would be okay, but I can do a lot in one second. I might surprise you.
 
Elinor Levin