Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Shower The People You Love With Love

     I'm curious.  How many of you regularly receive a message, say from an old friend, that in just a few words affirms your beliefs, complements your abilities, and finds your life's work worthwhile and meaningful?


     Yeah, thought so.  Me neither.  I have loads of people in my life who do the most incredible things, and yet I never think to sit down and take a moment to just let them know how immense their influence is in my world. 


     A few weeks ago, a dear friend of mine decided to let me in on what he thought about my life, and I have to admit, it was quite a gift.  From the moment I was first reading it, I wanted to post it here. Not wanting to appear the ever self-congratulating narcissist, I kept it to myself. 


     So here is my idea.  I am a newbie blogger and I don't have a blogroll or memes or even a decent method of leaving comments, but lets just bear with that and give this a try.


     Write someone a letter.  Write it to a person in your world who just might not know how influential, inspirational, or just downright awesome they are to you.  It doesn't have to be lengthy or well written- just get to the point.  Tell me about it in a comment.  If you like, post it on your blog and you can leave a link to it in your comment.  Tweet it, facebook it, stumbleupon it, whatever you like.  Just let someone know today that you think their life matters, and tell them why.


     And as an example, I'll post an excerpt from the letter I got.  At his request, I am referring to the author as Humpty Dumpty.


  Jemima, “people” don’t do what you have done. “People” don’t listen. “People” don’t hear that voice that tells them what they should be doing with their lives. You, on the other hand, did just that. In organized religion, they have a word for that – vocation, from the Latin “vocatio”, or calling. But you already know all this, don’t you? You got your calling, and didn’t shy away from it. That is what makes you Jemima.
     I am sure you would agree with me that you and I probably share very few “religious” beliefs. I have a feeling, though, that we would find that we have many socio-cultural values in common. I chose to help you guys out because I love the fact that your mission has such a strong social base. I respect that immensely. I also know that if more folks who preach religion were to put their preaching into practice like you, Rooster and Cricket do, the world would be an immensely better place. . .
      . . . I have a feeling that you and I share this one, very simple thing. As I have grown to know you a little through our exchanges, and through your blog, I have realized that like me, you don’t struggle with the whys, hows and wherefores. You simply love.
      The contexts in which you and I apply this most simple of messages could not be more different. But the outcome is the same. We sow the seeds that blossom into expressions of love. People will believe the message that you bring them, Jemima. They won't believe it because you express it well, or because you "sell” it to them. They will believe your message because it will not be made up of empty words, rhetoric, smoke and mirrors. They will see that you live it day by day, and fully. That, my friend is the ultimate sales strategy.
 -Humpty Dumpty



     There are no words for how this little message impacts me.  So often, I assume people see me as I see myself- the ill-equipped, bumbling, stumbling gypsy on a quest that I haven't fully defined.  He hit the proverbial nail on the head about what I actually want people to see in me.  I'm grateful.


     So go spread a little love today by letting someone know that they matter, and then come back here and tell me about it.



Letter photo courtesy of Dave Di Biase.
Hands photo courtesy of Stephen Eastop.

3 comments:

Dana K said...

"you don’t struggle with the whys, hows and wherefores. You simply love. ". DITTO

that quote is you, in a nutshell, & always has been. You have never been harsh or judgmental, even though you are quite versed in sarcasm. ;-)

I love this challenge & I'm going to see how I can work it into a blog post this or next week.

I'm really glad we have reconnected.

McKenna said...

What a great challenge, I need to send people more personal reminders of how much they mean to me. Thanks for the idea.

Shell said...

That had to feel amazing to receive that letter. I will think about one I could write!