There is a moment after you exchange niceties with the person sitting beside you on the plane when both of you have to decide whether to fully engage with one another or to put in your headphones and stare at a screen, magazine, or book. A few weeks ago two people decided to talk and to listen. One of those people was me.
We talked about health, social media, movies, Broadway, books, Iceland, and Hawaii. For two hours and 27 minutes we exchanged questions and answers. I gained precious morsels of wisdom from this stranger, books to read, places to go, movies to watch. What has stayed with me the most was the advice he told me he gives to his children:
Give without expectation. Love the same way.
I thought it took courage to say this to a stranger. How often do we talk about things that real? It is way off the topic of weather. . .
I walked away inspired with new books, places, and movies on my TO DO list and an e-mail address.
I was thinking about him yesterday, how inspired I was by him, wondering if we would keep in touch…
What should appear in my inbox the next time I checked? An e-mail from him with the picture below and an offer to send books he thinks I will like. He walks his talk, he gives to give.
It is amazing the way the universe responds to us. Human kindness, thoughtfulness, and caring is alive and well, despite what they are telling you on the news. I talk to wonderful people everyday.
How can you act in and through love? How can you give just to give? No attachments to outcomes or expectations…
The next time you sit beside someone on the plane, consider not putting in your earphones.
You might just meet someone who is living proof of everything you want to believe in really works.
What could you do to brighten someone’s day?
Send a postcard! The Postcard Project will even pay your postage for the month of March! Come by the office or we will send you some! If you know someone who could use a pick-me-up, a postcard with a thoughtful note shuffled in among their bills could be just the thing!
Advice I Give Myself 