Love's Daily Dose
As product development is underway, we can focus our efforts on the most important products of all... Our Lives. Yours and Mine. When Love is our product, we can change the world one action at a time. Just try it and see...
Sometimes what love would do next is…
Be still.
It’s no secret that busyness binds us. The what not’s and where to’s and how do’s keep us racing against the clock to get it all done. And to our dismay, we won’t win a contest against time. The effort we put forth trying though, is odd if you stop to consider it. What’s the prize? Can we name it?
I can’t.
But if I stop long enough to think about the race I’m running, I catch my breath. And after the first breath, the second gets deeper. Then the third. And before I know it, I’m still. And love can catch me… surround me… warm my chest… open my eyes to what’s right in front of me. It’s Time, smiling, asking to be my friend. Time doesn’t want to race me. So why do I want to race time?
Love and Time are companions. They depend upon one another for space and value and contentment.
Sometimes what Love would do next is Be Still. Sometimes if you want to Love… or you want to feel Loved… embrace Time. One Breath. Then another. Until the busyness no longer binds.
Sometimes what Love would do next is…
Be diligent.
At some point, you will mess up. There will come a moment when you know what is the most Loving thing to do next and still choose not to do it. It’s okay. It’s not the end of you or your Purpose. You’ll get another chance the very next moment to try again. The universe is constantly presenting us with opportunities… and four hundred and thirty third chances… and unlimited do-overs. Don’t beat yourself up when you lose your grip on Love. Don’t stay stuck. Don’t stew over it any longer than it takes to figure out how you can do it better next time. Move on. Try again. Keep trying. Keep asking the question. Keep doing Love. Your persistence to the process will produce more peace than you ever thought possible.
Sometimes what Love would do next is be diligent and try, try again (and again and again and again).
Sometimes, what Love would do next is…
Be Quiet.
We live in a very loud world. Our radios and flatscreens and laptops and iPads and smart phones… email and text and tweet us with flashes and beeps and chimes… they sing and ring and scream in a hundred different tones. Most everyone is attempting to get a piece of our attention, and they must do it loudly to compete one with the other… loud voices, loud gestures, loud commercials, loud behaviors. All of it, ramping up decibel after decibel, until our minds are so full, we don’t have room for our own thoughts anymore.
Love does not compete that way. Love does not join in the noise or ramp up the decibels. Love waits quietly. Love is patient. Love is kind. Love is low key. Love is a whisper much more often than Love is a shout.
Love can play out quietly in different ways. The most Loving thing to do next might be… choosing to be the one who is quiet for others in a world full of screeching. The most Loving thing to do next might be.. choosing to turn down the useless noise that bombards and threatens our own peace. The most Loving thing to do next might be… keeping our judgements to ourselves so not to condemn or hurt or ridicule another. The most Loving thing to do next might be…. to quietly hug and hold someone who doesn’t need yet one more opinion or piece of advice.
Sometimes (actually much of the time I think), what Love would do next is…
Be Quiet.
Sometimes what Love would do next is…
Be honest.
Love tells the truth. Love doesn’t sugar coat. Love doesn’t lie. Love doesn’t fake it. Love breaks down barriers with authenticity and genuineness and honesty. Trying to be someone or something we are not, isn’t Loving…. not to ourselves or to others. The more you choose to live out a Purpose of Love, the more confidence you’ll find in who you are becoming. Being honest about who we are can be tough. After all, not everyone will reciprocate with Love. But some people will… more people than you might think. There is power and freedom and release in telling the truth.
Sometimes what Love would do next is be honest in a humble voice.
Sometimes what Love would do next is…
Be flexible.
Not by force but by choice. Let’s face it, control is a big fat illusion. We logically know it, yet we often maintain a life rhythm that speaks differently. We often try to control time and space and others. We make ourselves a little or a lot bit crazy by doing so. On the contrary, Love is quite flexible. Love sends control packing. Love moves in and out of life’s nuances like a gentle summer breeze. Next time you feel anxious because things aren’t going the way you planned, take a deep breath and be flexible. Simply chill out and don’t take yourself so seriously. Sometimes what Love would do next is bend. Be flexible.
Often times what Love would do next is…
Be humble.
We live in a society that rewards ego. The bigger, the better it seems. There’s an old Cheers episode where Sam asked Norm, “How’s it goin’ Norm?” Norm replied, “It’s a dog eat dog world, and I’m wearing Milkbone underwear.” Norm’s metaphor is funny and sad and true. We are not humble. We are too often infested with pride and self-importance, stepping on one another to get ahead… get more… get noticed… get ‘what’s mine.’ But there is a different way… the way of Love.
“Let us develop a kind of dangerous unselfishness,” Martin Luther King Jr.challenged us in his last speech. Dr. King talked about the story of the Good Samaritan, in which two “religious” men pass by a wounded man leaving him for dead. Yet a “lesser religious” man stops to tend to the man and care for him in his obvious suffering.
Dr. King explained that the road to Jericho was a long, downward winding, dangerous road, that started 1200 feet above sea level. In Jesus’s day it was called “The Bloody Pass,” because of the ambushing and robbery that took place as people traveled. Dr. King noted that the “religious” men, who passed the wounded man on the road to Jericho, might have been scared the suffering man was simply faking it… that he might be waiting to lure him over and seize them… so the they did not come to the wounded man’s aid. Dr. King said, “And so the first question that they might have each considered was, “If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?” But then the “less religious” man (The Good Samaritan) came by. And he reversed the question: “If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?”
This is the question we must begin to ask ourselves if we expect to truly uncover and live our Purpose of Love. We must begin to think in the smallest instances and most significant events in our lives, not of ourselves, but of the other person. This is the essence of Love.
So often when we think ‘humble,’ we think ‘weak.’ But let’s be honest, it takes a very strong person to put pride aside and consider the other person first. Being humble is not about letting people walk all over you. Being humble is about inner strength. Being humble is about being comfortable enough in your own skin that you don’t have to prove anything. Being humble is about internal resolve. Being humble is about knowing who you are and believing you are valuable without constant external approval. Often times, what Love would do next, is make the strongest choice to ‘develop a kind of dangerous unselfishness.’
Be humble.
Often times what Love would do next is…
Be forgiving.
We all mess up. Sometimes we make little messes and sometimes our messes are so big FEMA should be called in. Whether intentional or unintentional, we have all been hurt… and we have all passed along hurt to others. My mentor told me that “holding onto unforgiveness is like personally drinking rat posion & hoping to kill the other person.” Yikes.
However, the more we employ Love, the less and less we will hurt other people. And the more we forgive other people of their messes… the less we will hurt. It’s a graceful circle, this forgiving thing… the more I forgive you, the more you forgive me. The more you forgive me, the more I forgive myself. The more I forgive myself, the more I forgive others. The more I forgive others, the more others forgive you. Giving people grace has no bounds. There is no limit to what grace can change in us and in another person.
Sometimes we hold on to hurt so tightly, it seems to be the only thing keeping us afloat. Yet, if we could muster the guts to let go of the hurt, we’d find there is a luxury cruise liner waiting to catch us… a ride full of abundance and laughter and entertainment and joy.
Forgiving is probably one of the hardest parts of Love. And that’s because it’s one of the best parts… the part that grows us up and makes us stronger than we ever knew we could be. Forgiveness eventually leads to freedom. Sometimes what Love would do next is forgive the person that hurt you… and sometimes that comes right after forgiving yourself.
Be forgiving.
Not everyone is familiar with Love… what real Love looks like… or acts like… or sounds like. The Most Loving Thing to do next may be obvious to some people and confusing to others. Truth is, we can all use a little (and a lot) of help…
…which is beautiful, because we can actually learn Love.
Unsure “What would Love do next?”
Today’s Daily Dose is…
Be kind.
Kindness is contagious. Kind words (Please. Thank you. No thank you. Have a nice day. How can I help? Are you ok?)… Kind actions (holding the door for another, letting someone pull out in front of you in traffic, offering to share something simple, inviting a pedestrian to cross in front of your vehicle, giving away money or a sack lunch when you see someone in need, volunteering your time, visiting those that are lonely)… Kind gestures (a smile, a wave, hanging up the phone while you check out at the grocery store, taking in a cart from the parking lot, praying for peace).
There are an infinite number of kind things you can do in a day. You’ll be amazed at the opportunities when you slow down and see them. Kindness promotes an atmosphere of peace. Sometimes what Love would do next is simply be kind to the person that (you might have forgotten) needs your kindness.
Be kind.
Not everyone is familiar with Love… what real Love looks like… or acts like… or sounds like. The Most Loving Thing to do next may be obvious to some people and confusing to others. Truth is, we can all use a little (and a lot) of help…
…which is beautiful, because we can actually learn Love.
Unsure “What would Love do next?”
Today’s Daily Dose is…
Be Real.
Avoid the temptation to cover up who you really are (even if you’re afraid who you really are is an asshole).
Here’s why. Love can only begin to take root in an authentic environment.
Love cannot sprout from a lie. Love cannot grow from emptiness. Love will not produce a bloom without roots that run deep into your real life experience. Your experiences are what make you valuable and unique and necessary to the rest of us. Your trials, your triumphs, your hurts, your hopes, your story. If you don’t tell it, the rest of us miss out on knowing “you”. Not the plastic you that sits in a dark corner collecting dust, apparently requiring no water or sunlight… That ‘you’ doesn’t need the rest of us & that you will blow over when the air vent kicks on. That you has to be an A-hole, because it sucks to be plastic. Plastic doesn’t grow, ya know? Who wouldn’t be a little cranky without a chance to grow?
Love is full of light. Light makes things grow. In growth, we find freedom to become more than we thought possible.
Be real.
Not everyone is familiar with Love… what real Love looks like… or acts like… or sounds like. The Most Loving Thing to do next may be obvious to some people and confusing to others. Truth is, we can all use a little (and a lot) of help…
…which is beautiful, because we can actually learn Love.
Unsure “What would Love do next?” Today’s Daily Dose is…
Be patient.
Are we in such a hurry because we are haunted by the finality of time, or is hurry just a bad habit? The more we hurry, the faster time goes. The only way to slow the clock is to slow yourself. Try it. Go fast, lose time. Go slow, make time. Why is that so? Because the time you spend patiently will produce a lot of Love.
Put yourself in one of these scenarios… When someone is hurried with you and barely listens and dismisses you quickly, whether directly or indirectly, how do you feel? Do you feel loved? Noticed? Respected? Heard? Yeah. Me either. What about an impromptu deadline that’s impossible to meet? What about getting cut off in traffic? What about a car speeding by your child on the sidewalk? What about being yelled at to ‘Hurry up! Hurry up,’ when you are already trying your best? What about when that thing you want most in life just doesn’t seem to come very fast (or come at all)? Don’t you wish someone would take a moment to understand your side?
Do you want others to be patient with you? Can you be more patient with others? Better yet, can you be more patient with yourself? When you are, it spills over onto everyone else like a gentle waterfall. Try it. You’ll find a lot more Love in the moments than you thought possible.
Diana Ross said it best, “You can’t hurry Love. No, you’ll just have to wait. Love don’t come easy, it’s a game of give and take.” Sometimes what Love would do next is Be Patient… with yourself, with others, with life.
Be patient.
Facebook