Today I want to talk about love. We can give love to others in many different ways. Expressions of love go way beyond saying "I love you." You could buy your friend her favorite candle to surprise her with when you meet for coffee or send a quick text to a co-worker asking how their doctors appointment went earlier that day.
Love goes much further than just an expression of it to someone close to you. You can give love to the fitting room attendant at the mall or the person in line behind you at the gas station. These acts of love will be expressed much differently than those given to your significant other or family member. But they're still all just as important.
On occasion we all come across people who aren't very nice to us. Maybe it's someone who doesn't hold the door for you when they see you have your hands full walking out of Starbucks or it could be the cashier who very clearly doesn't want to process your return. Our immediate reaction is to judge that person and oftentimes to not be very nice to them either. I used to do both of those things. But I've come to realize that the people who seem the hardest to give a bit of positivity to are the ones who need it most.
We never know what that person with the sour mood has been through that day, week, month, or even that year. We simply don't know what's going on in someone else's lives to result in them acting that way. Giving them a smile, putting some money in the tip jar, or just asking them how their day is going can do wonders to help someone out.
We all have bad days and sometimes we don't come off in the way that we'd like. We know that to be true for ourselves but we often forget that to be the case for others as well. We all need to be nicer to each other and stop taking offence when someone isn't very nice. Honestly, it's most likely not about us anyways. When I yell at Darrin for going to Target instead of going to dinner first it's not because I'm actually mad that he thought going to Target first would make more sense because it was in the area. I'd actually be mad because I didn't think about what we'd be doing and forgot to bring a snack with me. Then I got too hungry and took our my own frustration on him.
Most people aren't jerks. Sure, some people really just aren't very nice. But for the most part people are nice. People usually aren't nice all of the time though. That's not realistic. Once you understand that and know that everyone isn't against you then you start to understand the importance of spreading love everywhere you go.
You receive what you put out into the universe. The more love and positivity you give, the richer your life will become with memories, experiences, and gratitude for all things in life.
I know that all sounds cliche but it's true.
Spread love and love is what you'll receive. Give it a shot and let me know how it goes. x