Love and Kindness Initiative and Let’s Make A Deal? What, are you nuts?
Hang in with me for a few moments until the post title makes sense. I promise you, you won’t walk away from reading this post with a truckload of zonks. Fans of the show will know what that means. For young’uns who don’t know, go find yourself some videos and worship at the shrine of neon costumes.
I’ve taken lots of classes over the years, but I’ve never taken a class in “How To Start A Movement.” Unless, that is, you count belly dancing classes. I’ve started lots of those movements, but that’s not the kind of inspiration I’m bringing to my part of the world right now.
Since I didn’t know how to start an inspirational movement and since I wanted to bring The Love and Kindness Initiative to my part of the world, I improvised whatever I needed to do. I began by saying nice things to people. I’d express gratitude to random strangers, their eyes would frequently glaze over, and I’d recalculate.
The more I recalculated, the more I paid attention to people I didn’t know, the more I understood what I was to do. It wasn’t about what I said to people, it was about how I could inspire random people to feel like they were the center of my universe, at least for a moment.
When I did my job well, magic showed up. And, more often than not, the magic continued to show up whenever I’d see these random people. They were waiting for someone to notice and acknowledge how wonderful they are!
I’d become once more a caregiver, a caregiver for my part of the world. Inspiring my Mom to feel like she was the center of my universe had worked magic with her during her brain trauma years, inspiring my dog Laila to feel like she was the center of my universe had worked magic with her during her cancer and post-cancer years, and inspiring random strangers to feel like they were the center of my universe now worked magic to bring The Love and Kindness Initiative into my part of the world.
I met Phyllis in a Whole Foods express checkout line. It felt easy to connect my heart with hers. She looked a lot like someone I’ve known since I was a toddler. I saw lovingkindness in her eyes, I explained how I am going around appreciating people as my way of transforming my part of the world through love, and I thanked her for what she brings to everyone who passes through her line.
We fell into easy conversation about how people so often stress out about family holiday dinners not being perfect when the point of family holiday dinners is to bring people together. It was a conversation we could easily have continued if there weren’t restless people shifting their body weight from one leg to another in line behind me. I said goodbye, wished her a happy holiday season, and made a point of looking for her each time I shopped at her store.
Our relationship slowly grew from that of cashier/customer to sage/willing student. Phyllis has a way of saying exactly the right thing at the right time to inspire someone who has started The Love and Kindness Initiative without a clue about what comes next.
I saw her last week. She urged me to “just stay in that creative flow.” She told me my work is very important, and she told me she’s looking forward to reading the surprising, inspirational and heartfelt stories I’m compiling about what has happened as I’ve taken The Love and Kindness Initiative to the world. I left her store smiling.
Just as I’d hoped she would, Phyllis has now made the Love and Kindness Initiative her own.
I saw Phyllis this past Tuesday when she was walking from one checkout line to another. After thanking her for having given me the perfect motivation to keep going during a difficult week, she returned to rah rah mode.
My heart, which had originally led me to her store to express gratitude to random strangers, was now overflowing with gratitude for all she was giving and continues to give to me. I thought I was the one who was supposed to do the giving. I never expected to receive so much from saying thank you!
As our conversation neared its end, she extended her right hand to me, and I took it. I wondered what would come next. Her heart was in her eyes ashe said, “Let’s make a deal, you and me. If you keep working, I’ll keep working.”
I shook on it. I committed myself to keeping my part of the deal.
I’m extending Phyllis’ invitation to you. Let’s make a deal, the two of us. If you keep working on bringing more love, gratitude, and kindness to our world, I’ll keep working on inspiring you to feel like you are the center of the universe.
Will you shake on it?
And if you want me to inspire your group, just fill out the contact form on https://www.transformingthroughlove.com. I’m here for you.
Just don’t expect me to wear the belly dancing outfit.
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