Today's blog about a little love....
A little love? Really,.... a little love? Shouldn't it be "A Whole Lot Of Lovin' Goin' On"?
Well...I guess we have to start somewhere. Let's start with a little love.
Have you given a little love to someone today? Maybe you have given some to the kids, the spouse, the pet, and the friends. BUT how about the NEIGHBOR, the co-worker, the check out guy/gal, the bank teller, the drive through attendant, the mail lady/man, the drivers on the road, the sales lady/man, the parents, the secretary at your child's school, the caller on the other end of the phone trying to sell you something or the stranger walking by? (Did you read that entire list? If not, slow down and reread.)
If you noticed, I didn't put YOUR kids, your spouse, your mailman on the list above. I could have put YOUR in front on all the names I listed, but that would imply that we OWN them. Sometimes we might think they OWE us because we feed them, clothes them, or even pay them. I could probably say they might not be giving us any love, so hey, why should we bother? Boy...do we think we should give them an earful. But, we do owe it to one another to give love, in general. I mean come on, the second greatest commandment is to love one another.
Maybe you say...They don't deserve it? They had a bad attitude. They gave me the wrong order. They didn't smile at me. They are always in a bad mood. Think about it....Who really deserves anything? Are any of us owed anything from another? You might say...yeah, they owe me $100. You gave it to them. You helped them out. Should we really EXPECT anything back? Should we? That person you helped out, was probably in need. When we give to the poor, do we expect them to do something for us in return? No, we do it for the greater good (o.k. it might give us a boost to feel good too). Are you deserving when you are forgiven by someone? Have you ever said or at least thought, "Oooops. I know I was wrong. I did have a bad attitude, but thank God they forgave me or the day would have been really bad." "THEY" made your day better because "THEY" gave you a little love, a hall pass, or a mulligan.
So if we can't give BIG love, how about a little love? A smile, Bonjour..Comment t'allez-vous? (for those of you the french translation...Hello, how are you going (doing-same thing)), a patient wave to cross the street, a shoveled walk for an older neighbor, a thank you to a clerk or a teacher, conversation with the school secretary to lighten her day or a sympathetic heart to someone having a rotten day. "I don't know what was wrong with that girl, but man she had a chip on her shoulder" turns into "How is your day going?" You pause to listen and then end with, "I'm sure your day will get better." SMILE.
I am sure all of you have done these things at one time or another, but how about a LITTLE love everyday, many times during the day? Who are you waiting for to change the world? We all can change the world with a little love.
So, yeah, it is about a little love which will turn into "a whole lot of lovin' going' on" when many give a little love away. How about it? Til next time....L
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Today's 10 minute Blog on HOPE....
As I stumbled out of bed, down the hallway this morning, to begin my day, I saw an animal run across the living room floor. For 1/2 a second I forgot that we live with an animal roaming throughout our home, our cat. Isn't that strange?, I thought. An animal lives in our home. My husband would tell you definitely yes, but millions of people live with animals, that we all affectionately like to call "pets".
So why do we live with these animals? We give them names, like people. We love them better than people, sometimes and sometimes not. Why do we live with them?
I went for a walk, after my daughter got on the bus for school this afternoon. When I returned and thawed out, I sat on the couch with a hot, hazelnut coffee (I know, I can't believe I finally drink coffee) to relax. Just as soon as I sat, it was my cat's invitation to curl up on my lap and adore me. I thought about the question that pondered me earlier this morning. And then it hit me, we live with those animals because they provide unconditional love. My daughter might tell you it's because she can play dress up and the cat won't sass her when she picks the pink dress to wear and makes the cat wear the blue one. No matter how good or bad life gets for us, they will ALWAYS be there. They give us HOPE. They give us hope for a better future, a better "us". They make us feel like everything really will be o.k.. Today, mine just helped me meditate. Ummmmm....And there it was....one of the gifts they so lovingly give....peace. (well, for some of you maybe your pet gives you a different gift than peace...peace is one of our gifts, at least most days)
We named our second cat Bella Grace (KiKi, God rest her soul, was our fist) because she came to us in a time that our family needed GRACE (and she was gray so ironically it worked). Bella means Beautiful in Italian, my grandma reminds us, but my daughter just liked that name. Bella Grace, Beautiful Grace. She is there every time someone is down and out and needs some HOPE. She taught my children how to be gentle and have love for another life. Today, I salute all the amazing pets of the world. They give so much and ask for so little in return. Let us take a lesson from our glorious pets and remember how to give much, but ask for little; to just "BE" present for someone else, so they can find strength and HOPE from our giving.
I am thankful for our Bella Grace. She was God's way of answering our prayers for a blessing of GRACE and helping us all learn how to love unconditionally. Why are you thankful for your pet? I bet you might find that your pet brings hope to your family too! Ciao for now!
So why do we live with these animals? We give them names, like people. We love them better than people, sometimes and sometimes not. Why do we live with them?
I went for a walk, after my daughter got on the bus for school this afternoon. When I returned and thawed out, I sat on the couch with a hot, hazelnut coffee (I know, I can't believe I finally drink coffee) to relax. Just as soon as I sat, it was my cat's invitation to curl up on my lap and adore me. I thought about the question that pondered me earlier this morning. And then it hit me, we live with those animals because they provide unconditional love. My daughter might tell you it's because she can play dress up and the cat won't sass her when she picks the pink dress to wear and makes the cat wear the blue one. No matter how good or bad life gets for us, they will ALWAYS be there. They give us HOPE. They give us hope for a better future, a better "us". They make us feel like everything really will be o.k.. Today, mine just helped me meditate. Ummmmm....And there it was....one of the gifts they so lovingly give....peace. (well, for some of you maybe your pet gives you a different gift than peace...peace is one of our gifts, at least most days)
We named our second cat Bella Grace (KiKi, God rest her soul, was our fist) because she came to us in a time that our family needed GRACE (and she was gray so ironically it worked). Bella means Beautiful in Italian, my grandma reminds us, but my daughter just liked that name. Bella Grace, Beautiful Grace. She is there every time someone is down and out and needs some HOPE. She taught my children how to be gentle and have love for another life. Today, I salute all the amazing pets of the world. They give so much and ask for so little in return. Let us take a lesson from our glorious pets and remember how to give much, but ask for little; to just "BE" present for someone else, so they can find strength and HOPE from our giving.
I am thankful for our Bella Grace. She was God's way of answering our prayers for a blessing of GRACE and helping us all learn how to love unconditionally. Why are you thankful for your pet? I bet you might find that your pet brings hope to your family too! Ciao for now!
Friday, January 7, 2011
Welcome to My Borland Country....
Out from the stacks of dust and fiction came a glorious reality book with my name on it (except I didn't write it) called Borland Country, by Hal Borland. An old friend found it on one of her voyages. It was published in 1971 not to long before he died, as the life Hal Borland saw; the life you see or might want to see. It even has a picture that resembles Opie fishing in a pond, possibly in Mayberry, or maybe that's my son fishing or maybe even you. Hal was like that. He was a simple man. He loved the country.
My friend gave the book to me as a gift, a token of the future. See, she knew I wanted to be a writer someday. So her find was a true treasure for me. I held on to that book for years before I became a writer. My real name is L.Borland and today you are reading My Borland Country.
Everyday, My Borland Country is blanketed with tranquil, white, falling snow. The snow might be cold, but white is the absence of color. Every time I see falling snow, I think of how Christ died for us and blanketed us with forgiveness, so that our sins would be absent from our hearts, at least when we try to get past St. Peter at those pearly gates of Heaven. Thank God for snow. So, in the morning, I wake up thanking God for all my blessings and asking myself what color am I going to paint my day? Do you ever ask yourself that question or do you let the grelin in your body answer for you? If you have ever watched Dr. Oz, you might know that grelin is a thief that robs you of your energy when you don't feed your body properly. (or was that Gremlin? No...) 3pm rolls around and grelin is on the rampage. Fighting and kicking, riping and roaring. Not in my country. Today, I went from white to GREEN. Green for life. Green for veggies. Mmmmm....I love veggies and I am happy to say so do my kids. GREEN. FIBEROUS GREENs. Not to mention that color doesn't look too bad on me. Don't forget your protein. Grelin doesn't like it. This way, you can wear your color all day, feel great and even make someone else feel good when you pass your color on to them. Believe me, your color shines through everyday. Show the world your true colors...go on, I DARE YOU! Well, maybe we should practise first. True colors start out ugly, but eventually find the yellow brick road to somewhere over the rainbow.
So, what color is your country today? Have you blanketed any one's day with your white snow of forgiveness? We all need it, we all want it, but sometimes it seems hard to give away. Make today your WHITE day and blanket someone with your forgiveness. Tell us, what color did you chose today?
My friend gave the book to me as a gift, a token of the future. See, she knew I wanted to be a writer someday. So her find was a true treasure for me. I held on to that book for years before I became a writer. My real name is L.Borland and today you are reading My Borland Country.
Everyday, My Borland Country is blanketed with tranquil, white, falling snow. The snow might be cold, but white is the absence of color. Every time I see falling snow, I think of how Christ died for us and blanketed us with forgiveness, so that our sins would be absent from our hearts, at least when we try to get past St. Peter at those pearly gates of Heaven. Thank God for snow. So, in the morning, I wake up thanking God for all my blessings and asking myself what color am I going to paint my day? Do you ever ask yourself that question or do you let the grelin in your body answer for you? If you have ever watched Dr. Oz, you might know that grelin is a thief that robs you of your energy when you don't feed your body properly. (or was that Gremlin? No...) 3pm rolls around and grelin is on the rampage. Fighting and kicking, riping and roaring. Not in my country. Today, I went from white to GREEN. Green for life. Green for veggies. Mmmmm....I love veggies and I am happy to say so do my kids. GREEN. FIBEROUS GREENs. Not to mention that color doesn't look too bad on me. Don't forget your protein. Grelin doesn't like it. This way, you can wear your color all day, feel great and even make someone else feel good when you pass your color on to them. Believe me, your color shines through everyday. Show the world your true colors...go on, I DARE YOU! Well, maybe we should practise first. True colors start out ugly, but eventually find the yellow brick road to somewhere over the rainbow.
So, what color is your country today? Have you blanketed any one's day with your white snow of forgiveness? We all need it, we all want it, but sometimes it seems hard to give away. Make today your WHITE day and blanket someone with your forgiveness. Tell us, what color did you chose today?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)