What are you keeping out?

"Do not protect yourself by a fence, but rather by your friends."
— Czech Proverb

I know some people who have been hurt, emotionally, by people they
thought loved them. And understandably they are now cautious of
trusting again, loving again. So they put up their protection shields
to keep people out. That way they won't get hurt again, right?

But what are they keeping out? Perhaps they won't get hurt by others,
but the life they are now creating seems to be hurting their chances
for joy, their chances for feeling love again. As much as we all would
prefer to live without hurt, keeping everyone out for fear of them
hurting us again will also keep out all who would love us again.

Instead of surrounding yourself with a fence of mistrust and fear,
surround yourself with a circle of supportive and loving friends. Allow
yourself to attract those that would love you by loving others first.

Are you aware of the little details?

"Very few people really see things unless they've had someone in early
life who made them look at things. And name them too. But the looking
is primary, the focus."
— Denise Levertov

As I enjoy looking at my garden on this sunny summer morning, I become
aware of so much more than the leaves and the flowers blossoming. I
take note of the interesting edges on the petals, the small bug
crawling up a leaf.

I realized that I don't always look at the rest of the world this way,
rushing by seeing only the big picture or the usual views. The other
weekend, I looked at a corner that I have seen over and over yet
realized that I had never noticed that there was a graveyard tucked in
behind the bushes, so in the habit of looking only at the buildings in
front.

It reminded me that we all need to take the time to acknowledge all the
little parts of our lives. We need to remember to look at life and the
world around us in a different way. Slow down. Be aware of where we
are, what we see, what we feel. Sometimes there might be something
there that we just never noticed. And some times we may find that the
sum of all the little things is much greater than the whole.

Kind words

"Kind words can be short and easy to speak but their echoes are truly endless."
— Mother Teresa

I received a phone call from someone the other day that really made me realized how important it is to do simple gestures of kindness. I had met her only once before viewing her house in the endless array of house-hunting we had been doing. While she was showing me her beautiful garden, I mentioned that she has beautiful eyes, which was simply a true and genuine compliment.

At the time, she blushed and was totally shocked that I would say that. It had been so long since anyone had ever said something so nice to her. It touched her so deeply and made her feel so good, she had to call me weeks later to say thank you.

It reminds me of how much I too crave simple gestures of kindness from time to time. Someone who gives a heart-felt compliment for no particular gain or reason and my day shines brighter because of it.

Let us never forget the simple kind gestures that can make a person's day go that much better. Let us be there to remind others that we are all beautiful people even when we don't hear it everyday. Reach out a warm loving hand to reassure someone in need and someone will be there for you when you need it too. Little by little we can brighten the smiles of the world with simple gestures of kindness.