Month: October 2018

I was adopted. All the dogs I’ve had were adopted. And, Barbara and I recently adopted a 54 year old woman who, without our help, would be homeless.

We don’t have lots of money. But we have big hearts and great faith. We cannot let her be put out on the street or go hungry if we can lend a hand. We’ve cut back in every way we can so we can send what we can to a new friend who is doing everything within her power to stay afloat. What we are giving is the lifeline she needs to get back on her feet. Exactly the same lifeline I received when I was adopted and received again when I was down and out.

I think you know I’m not the type person who is going to sit around and wait for other people to go first to make OUR world a better place. So, here are five MORE things I do each day that if you do too, WE WILL CHANGE THE WORLD in a very good way.

1. Refuse to gossip. About ourselves, other people, politicians, actors, anyone. Yes, we can go through life without participating in this destructive and harmful pastime. We can absolutely support others as we want to be supported because we actually raise ourselves up by lifting one another up, NOT by tearing each other down.
2. Respect others as we want to be respected. That means we respect even those who do not respect themselves enough to be respectful of others.
3. Apologize when we mess up. We’re not perfect. But we can admit when we’re wrong, when we make a mistake, and we must genuinely mean it by working hard not to make the same mistakes again.
4. Pick up trash and litter in our neighborhoods, parks, and public spaces. No it may not be our trash but we can do something positive about it.  We teach children how to dispose of waste responsibly.  And we do what we see needs to be done to lead by example to keep our world clean.
5. We reach out to those who are lonely. Those who feel unseen, unheard, unloved. We smile, say hello, stop and have a conversation with someone we meet. People who feel a part of something good don’t fall victim to joining something bad. Yes, it takes a caring and active village to raise responsible children who grow into caring and responsible adults.

See it really is very easy to make a positive difference each and every day to be LOVE in ACTION.

 

My skin is white because my parents were white.  I did not choose the color of my skin. I also did not choose where I lived growing up, the religion I was told to believe, the food I was given to eat, or the stuff I was taught in school. Like you, my parents and the society in which I was raised tried their best to mold me into who they wanted me to be.

Of course, I rebelled. Some children stop asking why as they grow up. I may have stopped asking out loud, but inside WHY is always in my heart. I learned early in life to filter my thoughts, experiences, other people’s opinions, through the love in my heart. To do so I had to ask WHY because I was NOT going to be racist. I was NOT going to be judgmental of people who did not look like me. I was NOT going to condemn people who did not go to the same church I did. I was NOT going to discount people who did not believe what I was told I must believe. I was NOT going to live in fear. Or be controlled. Or tolerate injustice, inequality or negative status quo.

From a young age I was uncomfortable with anything but love, and believe me I experienced so much that was not love.  But I chose to ask why, to question everything and everyone who did not align with the positive behavior of love. That is how I learned to walk my LOVE talk. I taught myself what it means to lead with my heart by asking WHY of all that does not feel good and right to my soul.