Boundless Love?

The other day I was driving around town doing errands when an older, slightly beat up, gold-colored car suddenly pulled into the road in front of me. I had to brake hard to avoid hitting them and I audibly yelled, “What the f*!#!” as my heart rate rose with my anger. Even with braking, I practically crawled up their tailpipe.
 

I figured it was another damn distracted driver looking at their phone rather than paying attention to their driving. And I really hate drivers who do that. I look forward to the day they invent technology that disables phones while a car is moving.
 

Then I saw the driver’s gray hair on a head that barely peeked over the car seat.
 

My heart instantly melted. I smiled, waved at them, and gave them all the space they needed as if to say, “Sorry. I understand. I love you.”
 

Over the past few years, two of the biggest changes in my life are that I became an uncle to a wonderful niece and nephew, and my Dad became a nonagenarian – he is an amazing 94-year-old! Two fantastic experiences at the opposite ends of life’s spectrum. And as a result, I have noticed that the ends of my compassion have grown immensely.
 

I notice that whenever I see a small child, I cannot stop smiling and sharing in their wonder and exploration of the world, for in their eyes, I see my niece and nephew. And whenever I see their parents, I send them love because I understand more deeply what a difficult, challenging and important job they have. In their struggles, I see the struggles of my brother and sister-in-law.
 

And whenever I see one of our wise elders walking our planet, I cannot stop smiling and honoring their journey, for in their slow careful steps, I see my amazing Dad, and I want to reach out and hug them and let them know they are loved, honored and appreciated.
 

It is truly miraculous what a dose of understanding will do for your life.
 

These are gifts I never could have imagined receiving in my life. My love for all has expanded through my understanding and compassion for a few. It is as if my new understanding creates an umbrella of love for all those around me . . . and I never thought my heart could feel such love for complete strangers.
 

And that, perhaps, is the greatest gift one could ever hope to receive in life.
 

“It is with true love and compassion that we can begin to mend what is broken in the world.”

— Steve Maraboli
 

We are once again entering the holiday season. One of my favorite times of year because collectively, we humans pause, even if but for a moment, and we think of others. It is hard to fully express the power of compassion. I imagine that is because she is a sister to love, another emotion people find hard to express in words. But I think that is OK, for perhaps it is better to express both of those emotions through actions.
 

This holiday season, why not test the bounds of your compassion and show someone how much you love them.
 

READ HOW THIS APPLIES TO YOUR BUSINESS here.

 
 

Image Source/Credit: Nanou Monso

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For This, Be Thankful

I don’t know about you, but this time of year I take the word Thanksgiving literally. I am more grateful for all I have in the world. I silently send thanks to someone for who they are in my life. I am forever grateful for all my possessions, as simple as they may be. And I stop to acknowledge the truly amazing machine my body is and the fact that it keeps going with every breath.

 

In the presence of all this gratitude, I found myself thinking about my Dad and his “buddies” – all over 80 years old. Among them, they had 345 years of experience on this planet. With their fantastic perspective, I wondered what wisdom they had to share about life and gratitude.

 

So I set up a lunch with all of them to hear the wisdom of the ages.

 

I should have known better. 🙂

 

Not surprisingly, the conversation did not go as planned, but I was surprised . . . and touched . . . by what emerged.

 

The conversation turned into a LOVEfest! Each one of them acknowledged and appreciated the others for what they bring to the friendship and the group. More than anything else, they spoke about the strength and importance of the relationships and friendships in their life.

 

They appreciated their families, their kids, their wives, their grandchildren, and each other.

 

Interestingly, their jobs, success, businesses and accomplishments were all secondary to the relationships in their life.

 

While I wasn’t surprised by this wisdom, I let their words really sink into my soul after our conversation. All too often I find my life gets sidetracked or my peace is disturbed by my ego, which is more concerned about my superficial successes or accomplishments.

 

Their lifetime of wisdom strongly suggests otherwise.

 

That one jewel of wisdom – that our relationships, friendships and family are the most important thing in our lives – is worth repeating over and over and over again . . . and perhaps that is the true wisdom of the ages.

 

These are all great men with amazing life stories. But in the end, what matters most is WHO they love, not WHAT they have done.

 

No matter your age, young or old, take a moment this month to hug all those people who mean something to you. It is clear to me that it is the most important and valuable thing you can do in all your life.

 

Rarely do the members of one family grow up under the same roof.

– Richard Bach, Illusions

 

I love the expansiveness of this quote. There is an abundance of love to be received, and given, in the world . . . if only we allow for it. It is always our own heart that gets in the way of either. And that is our challenge as humans.

 

There is another wonderful quote by Rumi that states, “Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”

 

May this year be the year you practice the wisdom of our elders and fully feel the love around you, and give it back to the world tenfold.

 

READ HOW THIS APPLIES TO YOUR BUSINESS here.

 
 
Below is a beautiful video of an incredibly successful campaign that spread love, caring and connected-ness throughout the world. May it inspire you to give someone a hug this Thanksgiving.
 

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What are You UNgrateful for?

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, tis the season for gratitude. However, while I am grateful for so many of the small and simple things in life, I thought I would turn the season on its head and challenge you to think differently.

 

This Thanksgiving, I want to know what are you UNgrateful for?

 

I know. A bit of a harsh question, but a very valuable one nonetheless.

 

Take a moment to think about all the things in your life that you are UNgrateful for. Those things that you have been tolerating and don’t like. I challenge you to take a look at your life and determine all those things that aren’t working for you.

 

Then, I challenge you to eliminate them. Or fix them. Whether it is that rattle in your car, that chore at home that needs to be completed, the friendship that no longer serves you, that unresolved conversation, or that decision you have repeatedly delayed.

 

Tolerations kill us! They suck our energy and don’t allow us to be present. They constantly nag us and tug at our subconscious, reminding us that something needs to be done. And until we tend to that toleration, we can never be at peace.

 

And isn’t that what the upcoming holidays are about – finding peace in our lives and being present to all we love? Being present to and grateful for all the untold blessings we have in our lives?

 

This holiday season, I challenge you to find at least one toleration in your life that prevents you from being eternally grateful for all you have, and once you have identified it, eliminate it. In doing so, you will be amazed at how much more space you have in your life for joy, love and a sense of peace

 

The best way to escape from a problem is to solve it.

– Alan Saporta

 

Getting rid of tolerations is simple math – addition by subtraction, as they say. Getting rid of what we don’t want in our lives provides the space for what we do want. The act of clearing allows us to feel more free, more at ease, and more at peace.

 

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