It’s such fun to write a post about love today. I had hoped to write this yesterday but we have had guests for about a week which is what happens, with some regularity, when you live in sunny Florida six months of the year and the other six, in Minnesota. Those Minnesota folks love to get a few days of sun. You can’t blame them and it’s always a delight to have good friends here for a few days.
Since having our dog, Nellie, who is now nearly 10 months old, (yellow lab, in case you forgot), our lives seem more crowded, in general, and especially when guests are in the house. But it always works out. And Nellie is pretty good for still being a puppy. My husband has had her in training classes since she was 3 months old. She’s far from perfect but she is getting it down. His ultimate goal is to take her into nursing homes to cheer up the elderly, and schools to work with kids who are struggling with reading. We saw a great program on TV about how effectively that is being done in some schools. The dogs sit and listen and the kids love reading to them. What a sweet program. Wish there had been a program like that when I was an elementary teacher back in the 60’s.
Now back to the original reason for the post. Love. Yesterday was the one day a year that gets allotted to an expression that really should be made by every single one of us literally hundreds of times every day. What is an expression of love, you might be asking yourself. Well it doesn’t have to be a gift. Not a card, or candy or flowers. None of those would be turned down, you understand. But even people who don’t feel any real love for a person can show up with a token gift.
Real love is kindness. It’s a smile at a stranger who looks a bit tired. Or perhaps afraid. It’s being willing to listen when a friend calls and ask, “Do you have time to talk?” What they often need is simply a bit of silence, on your end so they sort out what’s going on. If they want suggestions, let them ask. The real offering of love is simply in the willingness to listen. Nothing more.
What I’d like for you to do is ask yourself, “Am I freely expressing love to the friends and strangers who are on my path?” And if you aren’t, perhaps you can make a plan, that starting tomorrow, you will do your part to make the day a little bit brighter for someone else. What I can promise you is this, every person to whom you make a difference, will make a difference in your day too. This is a guarantee.
Have fun tomorrow. And every day thereafter too!
