ACTS OF LOVE

AOL’s are acts of love. And they’re everywhere. Small ones like a phone call or big ones like a visit to someone in the hospital. Small ones like a visit to someone in the hospital or big ones like giving a friend who’s down and out a cheque for $20,000. Small ones like giving a friend a cheque for $20,000 or big ones like starting a foundation to save the planet and depositing $1 billion in that foundation’s bank account.

You get the idea. My small is your big. My big is your small. It’s how the heart sings that matters. Conscious observation has led me to conclude that the heart sings for both giver and receiver.

OTL’s actually come before AOL’s. They are opportunities to love: the conditions that bring upon us the chance to do an AOL. Illness is one such condition. It’s an opportunity to show our love through concrete acts. Small ones like noticing they’re cold and wrapping them in a cuddly blanket. Or massaging their dry feet with a lovely moisturizing cream. Is that big or small? (That kinda depends on the condition of their feet  🙂  )   A big act. A small act. It’s the intention that matters. And the intention is simply to love.

I first heard about AOL’s from Chloe, who urged me to count them in my day and to become aware how much love and kindness was circulating around and through me. It was happy math and noticing them helped me realize my world is so full of loving acts. Just review today.  Or yesterday. All those big and small moments just asking to be counted! 'What about the ones I do for myself?  Do they count?' I asked her.  'Are you kidding?' she replied.  'They count doubly because you're both the giver and receiver!'  Happy math indeed.