Show Yourself

Dear World, 
Dear God,

First - thank you.  Thank you for the amazing people in my life; permanent additions and those who weave in and out.  They are such unique gifts and I am blessed with every experience I have with them; whether it be fleeting, a couple hours, a day, or a lifetime.  They show me what is funny, what is love, what is kind, what is pain and what is simply human.  Feeling with them, or because of them, reminds me - I am ALIVE.  Thank you!! 

Second - I am sorry.  I am sorry that it is taking me this long to find... me, and listen to purpose.  However, I know I will always be finding more of 'me' so this may be a dish of continual apology edged with gold of gratefulness. 



Today I met another amazing soul and while it is possible that the meeting may have only left an impression of me jumping up and down in a crowded room of start-ups and shouting, "Guess what?!  I am HERE!!"  The most inspiring take-away, for me, was what I heard through our conversation - I heard loud and clear what I am to do.  What I am to continue to do.

I am to continue to move with my heart.  (Wow!)  That is scary and such a vulnerable thing to do, but... every question that I try to send out with my heart seems to come back with the answer, "Keep with the heart of 'why' and show yourself."

Did you catch that?  It isn't 'be' yourself, it is 'show' yourself.  Yes, yes.  I need to BE myself, but every time I SHOW myself something happens.  People seem to connect and I saw that happen today.

I felt the conversation shift from head to heart.  He got 'it'.  He got 'me' and gave sincere encouragement - write it.  Share it.  Create a platform with your story.

What an incredibly scary thing to do.  World, I will show me because you have amazing people and I will trust that more of those amazing people will dance through my world with love, light, life and laughter.  But God, when I get hit hard - please remind me to keep moving forward with my heart. 

Oh, and God, when people come around who say, "You are 60% of the way and have the courage to keep going..."  Well that doesn't hurt either.  Yet - feel free to add to that 60%!! 

What idea do you have that would touch lives? Check out what this guy did

I was introduced to the group, practice kindness (PK), in late December 2013 when a friend of ours had been gifted through their generosity (Video Here).  Then one day as I was in my neighborhood I saw a "practice kindness" sticker on a vehicle and thought, “Is it possible that these people may be in MY neighborhood?!  What if I could learn more about them?”  Curiosity stirred me as a story seemed to beg to be told...

First I discovered that YouTube was alive with moments of giving by the group and that Facebook was well over 1.5k likes (now it is over 7.5k!).  However, as much as I tried - I could not discover who, or whom, was behind such organized acts of kindness.  The videos showed many faces, but not a single person seemed to represent the group and nor could I link it to an organization.  Undaunted I reached out with a message through their Facebook page, holding hope that someone would respond.

A response DID come and later - an agreement to meet me over breakfast!  Turns out... they were 'sort-of' in my neighborhood.

Driving to the breakfast meeting I anxiously repeated my interview questions, while simultaneously expressing thankfulness (however, did I manage to convince PK to meet with me?). Yet all professionalism was forgotten when I met the one who took an idea that began as a personal reminder and helped it become something that has touched hundreds of lives.

Sitting down across from the man who agreed to meet me, I was impressed with two immediate things:
1) This man was genuine. There was nothing about him that hinted at a sense of grandiose importance.  He genuinely - was. just. himself.  He was authentic and open.
2) His smile was infectious.  When a smile took over his face and caused the light in his eye to twinkle, it felt like one was looking at a person who loved life with true appreciation and gratitude.  And it is from this place - true appreciation and gratitude - that he wanted to do something that would remind him 'to be kind'.

 

How it began

One restless day he decided to create a reminder for himself to practice kindness toward others; something he would see every day. The ‘reminder’ turned out to be incredibly simple.

With his 'reminder' car sticker on the back of his truck, he felt one small step closer to being the type of person he wanted to be.  However after only a short time he began to sense that there was something more to this ‘reminder’ and that it was about more than just him...  Feeling inspired he printed hundreds of stickers and started sharing them with others; for free. (You can get your own sticker here.)


Than the crisp fall air came and with it inspiration whispered again.  This time he began to see an idea that would touch people in a truly kind, gentle, and yet powerful, way.  Reaching out to a few close friends he shared the idea and asked, "Would you like to help by donating?"  Imagine his surprise when his friends said yes, though not with a few dollars - rather they said 'yes' with hundreds of dollars.

The Idea

The idea was to walk up to completely random people in shopping centers during the holidays - a time of year that is tender and sensitive to many for reasons that can range from financial to family, and offer to purchase the entire contents of their carts.  Supported by others, the vision of PK began to materialize and people all over the world saw the tender care of kindness ripple across numerous lives.

As more and more people began to learn about it, he found so many were asking to donate money to help him; kids were asking if they could be a part of it; and people all over the country were asking him to help start something in their own hometown. He began to realize in a truer and more connected way what he always knew – that the world needs kindness.

Who is this man?

The man is Dale and today Dale and his volunteers have turned what was just an idea with lots of heart and spirit into a non-profit organization so that the act of practicing kindness can continue to be a gentle touch that influences our world.

The fact is that we need kindness because we all want to feel like people care about us and we want to feel safe with those around us.  Kindness touches that need and helps create a sense of security around that want.

“practice kindness” through the actions of those who will support it by administration, volunteering of time or materials, and /or donations of goods, services, and finances are going to help us all feel better about our world.

Thank you team ‘PK’!!

Reflection

When I reflect on what I learned by meeting Dale I would have to share that two of the most transforming things are:

• Inspiration is a gift and with it - we can potentially touch hundreds of lives. Believe in you and follow where inspiration may lead.

Look at how a simple car sticker ‘reminder’ turned into something that has touched so many people. And it continues to ripple across the world, giving breath to the encouragement to lead an aspiring life and practice kindness.

• We cannot do it alone.

None of what PK has done has been one person, there has been a community of people who have believed in Dale, the ideas he shared, and then supported the ideas however they could.  So when you are inspired, find your community.  Together you may just be the next 'PK'.

PK is getting ready to begin another season of giving and they could use some help.  Take a moment to CLICK HERE and see how you can help 'practice kindness'.

Truth about Appreciation

It is not easy to remember to share.  Often times our thoughts tend to be about what to do now, what needs to be done, who to pick up, or what to cook, etc.  Then, add the emotional complexity of our thoughts as we try to navigate our relationships, our personal concerns with self, and the anticipation of things yet to unfold.

Truth is, appreciation is sometimes (if not all the time) one of the last things we think about.  Oh, it is all over positive psychology studies and the new age/self-improvement stuff that expressing appreciation, being grateful, and having an attitude of gratitude is good for us.  So, what happens when we forget?  Do we add another tail to the whip we already beat ourselves with?  Each time we use it saying something like, "I should be more grateful.  I should tell others how I appreciate them.  I should be more positive." 

What happens to us emotionally once we start this whipping scene?  I don't know about you, but I begin to feel pretty much like crap.  I feel a shade of guilt (though this would be a personal thing - everyone is different.) and next thing I know - I have wandered down some hallway of shadow that whispers something to the tune of, "I am not good enough.".  And, then doubt, about things that range from east-to-west, tickles my core of confidence.  In the end, I just plain feel ... plain.  Nothing worth rejecting, but nothing worth acknowledging either. 

Let it go.  Just let it go.  Let the thought go that you 'should be all positive', 'should have an attitude of gratitude' and 'should feel grateful all the time'.  Alright, I can already hear you, "But, how will that help me?  How will I become a better person?  How will that inspire me/remind me to acknowledge others?"  I mean, let the sense of 'should' go.  Because when you don't do what you 'should' - don't you feel guilt, or bad?  How can something that brings you wonderful gifts of light, happiness, peace and harmony be felt, or seen, if you are focused on whipping yourself? 

Instead of the negative, try this:  Simply post reminders where you look a lot (such as, the fridge door, the bathroom mirror, the car dashboard, your lock screen on your phone, etc.).  Gently say, "well ... you may not have caught that moment, but you will catch the next one.  Trust your instinct/feeling to do something."  While sitting at a stoplight, or in traffic, think about all the things that evoke a smile (such as: your puppy, that moment when your child did something that made you laugh so hard, the joke someone told the other day, that loving moment that still makes you blush, etc.).  

Point is, put down the whip.  We are human.  We are not perfect and not put together all that well.  My encouragement would be, don't tell yourself what you should do, just create reminders of what you want to do.