on love...

Believe it or not, I spend a lot of time thinking, and observing. I like to try and put myself in the shoes of others, or at least visualize what someone else's life might be like. The wheels of my mind are always spinning; thinking, processing, designing, dreaming. I also take a lot of time to observe; observe the world, observe other people, etc. What I have been recently learning is that if we live through the eyes of love, the world, the people in the world, and our every day lives are much more tolerable. While this may seem like a challenging concept to engage in, it really is quite simple. Slow down, take a step back, and act or react through love. For example, rather than be grumpy at the lazy clerk in the market who seems to be taking forever to scan your grocery items, greet her with a smile, and a friendly hello. Make small talk with her, and watch her light up. She may smile back, and even engage in a bit of conversation. Then she may even pick up speed while scanning your groceries, and no appear to be lazy or sluggish! Worst case scenario, you have engaged in conversation, and are not so focused on her negative behavior, which makes you happier, too! WIN-WIN!!! Another good example is, let's say, looking at the beauty of a flower. How many times have you walked past the roses in your garden, and never really LOOKED at them? I mean, really looked at the beautiful arrangement of petals, and the fragrant smell of the flower. More times than not, I bet you take your beautiful rose garden for granted, never really taking in nature at one of its finer moments. Or how about those fall leaves that seem to frustrate you every fall when your front lawn is covered in leaves. Have you ever looked at the beauty of those leaves? A multitude of colors, which seem to be so perfectly dispersed, almost like they were planned. Now when you really take a look at that rose, or at a falling leaf, a look through the eyes of love, you will see these things, and so many others, differently. The red petals of that rose will seem brighter, and the smell more potent. The orange on that leaf will seem warm like the afternoon sun. The reality is that all of these things in life are the same as they were a minute ago, or yesterday, or last week, it is just YOU who is seeing them differently. When you see things, and live through the eyes of love, your world magically comes alive. So put on your heart shaped glasses, and prepared to fall in love with the world! xo

Today's activity: fall in love

Today I encourage you to fall in love with the world. As I mentioned earlier it really is quite simple. Just take a deep breath, slow down, and enjoy the ride of life. Start seeing people and things in a new light. Take notice of the details, greet people with a smile, notice the colors in life, make conversation with a stranger, and just enjoy every little ounce of the world that surrounds you. Often times, and without meaning, I feel like we walk around with a harsh look on our faces, or perhaps we are so engaged in deep thought, that we forget to look ahead, or look around. Take note of the person standing next to you, or the blue sky above you. Live through love, and everything seems to go a little more smoothly, a little less stressful, and life seems to be a little more fun. After all, I think the Beatles said it best....LOVE IS ALL YOU REALLY NEED!