What the World Needs Now Is Love, Sweet Love
A teacher I had once told me to walk down the street and smile at anyone I see and think “I love you” as I walked by them.
When she first told me to do this, I could only giggle. I thought, “Tell strangers I love them? How awkward.” But then I found myself walking through the city trying this out. I’m not going to lie, I felt extremely uncomfortable and totally silly the first few times I tried this practice, but as I kept moving forward with it I started to actually find a love in my heart for all the people I passed on the street.
When I was about 6 months pregnant with my first child, someone told me that they had been sending me love prayers as I was about to embark on a new journey into motherhood and as my little baby grew in my womb. I lit up when she told me this! How could I not? To know someone had been thinking about me and sending good vibes my way as I departed into the unknown territory that is pregnancy and motherhood made me feel so extremely grateful and supported.
When you inwardly say “I love you” to someone as you pass them on the street, it’s this same action. It’s a non-verbal way of sending good vibes to someone you don’t know at all. It’s as if you are trying to light someone up from afar. Although they may not know that you’re thinking of them, they can feel the energy being sent to them.
I mean really, hear me out. I know it sounds all ‘woo-woo’ — I thought the same exact thing before I started this kindness practice many, many years ago, but have you ever been on the phone with someone and tried smiling while you spoke to them? It’s an old sales technique I picked up when I was working as a marketing and sales representative for a company years ago. If you smile while you talk to someone (ahem, a stranger) on the phone, they are sure to hear it in your voice and almost always mirror that back to you — and let me tell you, I was an extremely successful sales woman back then. *wink*
This practice allows you to really see the people of the world, no matter if it’s on the phone, behind a mask, or a computer screen. By sending a stranger love vibes and smiling through your words (I think that might be called schmizing, so thank you Tyra Banks), you can start to work your empathy muscle and do some serious flexing. Tapping into that emotion gives us the ability to understand and share the feelings of another while allowing for more peaceful interactions as we navigate the world.
All in all, we are literally making the world a better place. All from a very small gesture of our mind— one tiny “I love you” sent to a stranger. Happy love-spreading.
