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Lead The Way

Today, I have a spe­cial guest here, shar­ing his thoughts on how we can all lead our lives with love.  Please wel­come Keith Smith, from Straight Up Liv­ing

I’ve known Keith for some time, and always find that he speaks very much from a place of deep per­sonal mean­ing and care.  Today is no excep­tion, as he takes a look at the ways each of us can lead…lead from a place of love.

Please read along, as Keith shares some very won­der­ful thoughts on how we can each make a dif­fer­ence, how we can each shine our own amaz­ing light out into the world, how we can each be love in action…

Lead the Way

 

Leadership
Creative Commons License photo credit: somebody_

“Do not wait for lead­ers; do it alone, per­son to per­son.” ~ Mother Teresa

We can look any­where in the world — from our front door step to across the oceans, and see so much that is wrong, so much that needs to change, and so many peo­ple who live in dishar­mony.  There are bright spots out there too, many in fact, and we see them and think “I wish there were peo­ple around here who would do good things like that!”   I believe there are peo­ple like that every­where, and all they need is to see some­one actu­ally doing good things, then they will hap­pily imi­tate those actions.  If you see work that needs to be done, and love that needs to be shown, I encour­age you to be that per­son who takes the first step.  Lead the way.
 

“How won­der­ful it is that nobody need wait a sin­gle moment before start­ing to improve the world.” ~ Anne Frank

Imag­ine, for a moment, how our world would be affected if we not only loved oth­ers, but showed that love through our actions.  I’m not speak­ing of our fam­i­lies or other loved ones, but of cowork­ers, acquain­tances and com­plete strangers.  It is a beau­ti­ful moment when we come to real­ize that we don’t have to wait for some­one else to begin, or for some orga­ni­za­tion to take action.  We can be an activist for love and lead the way!  The world around you needs lead­ers, and not the sort of leader who is elected by pop­u­lar vote, nor those who aspire to have power and recog­ni­tion.  It needs lead­ers who love, and who are not afraid to show that love.  A true leader is some­one who serves oth­ers self­lessly, and who knows that the path to lead­er­ship is through the gate of ser­vant­hood.  If we are to see our world changed for the good, we must love and serve oth­ers.  Isn’t this what it’s all about?  Doesn’t it all come down to this?
 

“Every­one can be great, because every­body can serve” ~ Mar­tin Luther King, Jr.

There aren’t “spe­cial” qual­i­fi­ca­tions required to be an activist for love.  One has only to pos­sess a gen­uine desire for the high­est good for another per­son, and be will­ing to help them get it.  It may seem like a pipe dream to some, but I imag­ine a world in which every­one is lov­ing and serv­ing oth­ers, every­one being loved and served.  Per­haps the entire world will never real­ize this, but I want to find out just how much of it can be!
 

“It is not what we do, it is how much love we put in the doing.” ~ Mother Teresa

The thought of chang­ing the entire world can be over­whelm­ing, and at first glance, may seem a daunt­ing task.  The good news is that we don’t have to change the entire world, at least not by our­selves.  Begin right where you are!  It doesn’t mat­ter if you live in a city teem­ing with thou­sands of peo­ple, or in a rural com­mu­nity with only a hand­ful of neigh­bors, start there!  Start with the peo­ple near­est you; show them that love is real.  Show them that there is hope and that there are peo­ple in this world who care, that offer a help­ing hand with­out ask­ing for any­thing in return.

You may be won­der­ing what it is that you can do to change the world around you.  There is so much to say about this that it would take vol­umes to even begin an expla­na­tion.  Know this, it does not have to be some grand ges­ture that ends up being reported on CNN.  It has been said that life is made up of “the lit­tle things” and that’s very true.  The same can be said about being an activist for love.  The small­est acts of kind­ness, born out of a lov­ing heart, will echo through eternity.

Here’s an exam­ple from my own life.  Liv­ing just down the street from me and Jenny (Jenny is my most awe­some sig­nif­i­cant other), is a nice older gen­tle­man who is a wid­ower. Recently, I came home and found Jenny prepar­ing a plate of food.  I asked her what she was up to and she told me of this gen­tle­man, whose wife died a few years ago, and who now lived alone with seem­ingly few vis­i­tors.  While walk­ing the dog one evening she engaged him in brief con­ver­sa­tion, dur­ing which he com­mented about never cook­ing because it was only him­self at home.  This strummed Jenny’s heart­strings, and that’s why she was prepar­ing him this plate of home-cooked food.  Jenny, her two boys, and I made the deliv­ery.  The look in this man’s eyes, as he received this act of loving-kindness…well, it nearly makes me cry when I think of it.

That’s just one small exam­ple, and I know so many of you who per­form such acts on a reg­u­lar basis.  It is these seem­ingly small acts that are chang­ing the world around you.  It is these small acts that make you an activist for love, a true leader. Besides, there is noth­ing small about caus­ing a per­son to feel cared for, hope­ful, impor­tant and loved. 

Keep up with Keith by sub­scrib­ing to his blog, and fol­low­ing him on Twit­ter.

Lance writes sto­ries from his heart, aim­ing to inspire and moti­vate, as you align more fully with YOUR true peak. When he’s not here, you can find him hang­ing out with his fam­ily, rid­ing a bike, or just gen­er­ally act­ing goofy.   Sign up for the Thoughts from the Tree­house newslet­ter and get addi­tional inspi­ra­tion in your email inbox!
Lance Ekum
View all posts by Lance Ekum

Comments

  1. Emergefit says:

    Very nice!

    The thought of chang­ing the entire world can be over­whelm­ing, and at first glance, may seem a daunt­ing task.”

    I have a won­der­ful mother who has always preached (in a non-preachy kinda way), “You can not change the world, but you can change every moment you are a part, and for the better.”

    This post reminds me so much of that value. Thank you Lance for shar­ing it, and thank you Keith for writ­ing it!
    Emergefit´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Build­ing A Goal– From The Out­side In…My Profile

    • Keith says:

      Hi Roy,

      I love what your mother said. She cer­tainly sounds like a wise , lov­ing woman and she gave excel­lent advice! If we can but take one moment at a time, which is really all we ever truly pos­sess, and influ­ence that moment , we can make a huge impact in this world.

      Thank you so much for shar­ing that Roy!
      Keith´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..TRUST!My Profile

  2. Audra Krell says:

    This sounds like a case of “out­ra­geous love” and that is what this world needs. More acts of out­ra­geous love and kind­ness.
    Audra Krell´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Dull Scis­sors TalkMy Profile

    • Keith says:

      Hello Audra,

      Out­ra­geous Love”! Now, I like the sound of that!! And I agree totally, we need more acts of love and kind­ness! Let’s do it!

      Thanks for shar­ing your thoughts Audra!
      Keith´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Liv­ing Love LoudMy Profile

  3. Dear­est Lance, Thank you for fea­tur­ing Keith here…he is such a lovely soul!

    Dear Keith,
    You have cap­tured the true essence of liv­ing a life of ser­vice here. A life of serv­ing oth­ers with love and com­pas­sion. The only things I believe we née dto truly heal this world.
    The mother Teresa Quotes are some so dear to my heart. Your thoughts and her quotes..put together bring me to tears…tears of hope and joy, that if there are more peo­ple liek you int he world.…indeed this world can be Healed and Happy!
    You lead the way Keith…this writing…and you as a per­son are a shin­ing lov­ing exam­ple of that.(you too Lance)
    Thank you for writ­ing this.
    Much Love,
    Z~

    • Keith says:

      Zeenat,

      Ok, I want you to know that you’ve moved ME to tears with this com­ment. What I have writ­ten comes from my heart and your com­ments are so deeply touch­ing, and I think that is because your heart res­onates with what we’re speak­ing of here. Actively show­ing our love through demon­stra­ble ways. In this way will our world, the peo­ple in it, be healed.

      What bet­ter exam­ple can be given of an activist for love than Mother Teresa? Her life speaks loudly and will con­tinue to do so.

      Zeenat, you have a beau­ti­ful spirit, I see it’s glow across the ocean and it warms my heart to know that even in a place far from where I live, a great activist for love is shin­ing the light, illu­mi­nat­ing the way for oth­ers.
      Keith´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Liv­ing Love LoudMy Profile

  4. Terie says:

    Thank You Lance for shar­ing Keith’s wis­dom :-)

    Keith… this is so true, so touch, and revealing.

    “The small­est acts of kind­ness, born out of a lov­ing heart, will echo through eter­nity.” This quote sums it up for me. Thank You.
    Terie´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Back in the BayMy Profile

  5. Alien Ghost says:

    Hi Keith,

    For sure small things that might seem some­how insignif­i­cant for one can some­times make a life­time dif­fer­ent for some­one else, we just never know :)

    Raul
    Alien Ghost´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Antic­i­pa­tion ManiacMy Profile

    • Keith says:

      Hello Raul,

      You bring up a great point. Every con­tact we have through­out our day, may have a last­ing effect on that per­son. All the more rea­son to have that impact be a lov­ing one!

      Thanks for shar­ing your thoughts!
      Keith´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Liv­ing Love LoudMy Profile

  6. Lynn says:

    That was so lovely of Jenny to do that for your neigh­bor and I am can imag­ine how won­der­ful it was for this lonely man to see the smil­ing faces of your fam­ily when he opened the door. You made a real dif­fer­ence to his day and this is a true inspi­ra­tion.
    Lynn´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Happy pens– no secret and out of contextMy Profile

    • Keith says:

      Hello Lynn,

      Jenny did do a won­der­ful thing, and not just for our neigh­bor. She also did a won­der­ful thing by being an exam­ple to her chil­dren, and to me. That moment has styaed with me and serves as a reminder of the aat­i­tude in which I want to live my life.

      I am so happy you found that inspi­ra­tional! Thanks for shar­ing your thoughts with us.
      Keith´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Liv­ing Love LoudMy Profile

  7. Keith
    This is one of your best posts. The weird thing is I was look­ing for quotes the other day and you’ve just used 3 of the ones I liked. So we must be on the same page, eh? Jenny sounds like a won­der­ful per­son and shin­ing exam­ple for all. I agree whole­heart­edly it’s peo­ple being love in action that are chang­ing the world! Thanks for the great reminder and thanks Lance for hav­ing Keith as your guest today. You both rock!
    Tess The Bold Life´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Mind Adven­tures– Rob WhiteMy Profile

    • Keith says:

      Hi Tess!

      Thank you so much for your enthu­si­as­tic kind­ness! Your encour­age­ment means so much.

      Jenny is a won­der­ful per­son and she’s a gen­uine Kind Per­son!
      Like you say Tess, love in action is what changes things.
      Keith´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Liv­ing Love LoudMy Profile

  8. Hi Keith and Lance,

    I love this post — it oozes love. You describe how liv­ing as love is so sim­ple. Peo­ple just want to be rec­og­nized. Eye con­tact, a ques­tion, or ges­ture can make someone’s day. One of the baris­tas at a café I go to moves me to tears. She is so inter­ested in every sin­gle per­son who walks through the door. The whole place lights up when she is there.

    When we’re not self-involved in our own minds, we are avail­able to serve in big and small ways. It’s nat­ural and effortless.

    • Keith says:

      Hello Gail,

      Your com­ment is beau­ti­ful! You’re so right, peo­ple just want to feel like they mat­ter, that some­one cares about them. As you stated so well, it’s not rocket sci­ence! It isn’t hard to be lov­ing, we just need to get our of our heads and notice the peo­ple around us. :-)

      I fre­quent cof­fee houses too! I’d like to visit the one you speak of! Isn’t it awe­some to be on the receiv­ing end of such treat­ment? That’s the feel­ing I want to give to others.

      Thanks so much for your insight­ful com­ment and your kind words.
      Keith´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Liv­ing Love LoudMy Profile

  9. You guys are just SO won­der­ful, you know that?!

    We really ARE the ones who can “do good things like that!” Why not?? We hold infi­nite life and love within.

    It DOES make me cry to think of Jenny mak­ing that meal. Methinks Jenny and Keith are a match made in heaven.

    Thanks so much for this beau­ti­ful breath of sun­shine today!

    To copy Tess, you both do rock!!

    xoxo
    Jan­nie Funster´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..10 Great Mys­ter­ies of The Uni­verse– 3My Profile

    • Keith says:

      Hello Jan­nie!

      Jan­nie, YOU are won­der­ful and I know Lance would agree with that! Yes! We ARE the ones who can do good things and I love the rea­son you gave: “Why not?? We hold infi­nite life and love within.”

      Very well put Jan­nie, but then you are the Fun­ster! Cre­ator of lovely lyrics!

      I also want to thank YOU for the breath of sun­shine today!

      Ps I have to agree with what you said about Jenny and I!
      Keith´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Liv­ing Love LoudMy Profile

  10. Julie Ellis says:

    I believe some­times it is the *lit­tle* things we do, that mean the most! I do not con­sider myself to be a leader. A sim­ple smile, a kind word, or just lis­ten­ing can make someone’s day. Tak­ing some­one a meal like your wife did can mean the world to some­one. Espe­cially in times of loss. My favorite act of kind­ness is to send greet­ing cards, (some­times anony­mously!) to those who may need a gen­tle reminder that they are loved… maybe to offer hope… to say I care… Heart to heart; soul to soul. It makes my heart smile! I do wish I could be there though, to see the look in their eyes when they open a card… Lance and Keith, thanks for mak­ing a difference! ?

    • Keith says:

      Hello Julie,

      I think you are exactly right. It is the lit­tle things (which aren’t so lit­tle) that do mean the most. I know that I have had some­thing as sim­ple as a smile lighten my day. You just KNOW we can do that for others!

      Awe­some idea and such a sweet act to send those cards out to peo­ple who need love shown to them! Cer­tainly you are mak­ing a dif­fer­ence in the world around you, and the impact your lov­ing act has will echo down through time. You are an activist for love!
      Keith´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Liv­ing Love LoudMy Profile

  11. What a won­der­ful post! I don’t think we are all made out to be “lead­ers” but we all can do a lit­tle some­thing to make the world bet­ter even if that is a kind word to a per­son you know needs it or just an ear to let them talk or just to make a sad face into a smile with a kind word… very mov­ing Keith!

    Thx Lance for hav­ing Keith over!
    Jody — Fit at 52´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Happy Birth­day Dad!My Profile

    • Keith says:

      Hello Jody,

      You are right! We all can do some­thing to make a dif­fer­ence, and as you men­tioned, a smile is a pow­er­ful tool to do just that!

      Jody, thank you for shar­ing your thoughts and for your kind words. :-)
      Keith´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Liv­ing Love LoudMy Profile

  12. I love the quote from Anne Frank, “How won­der­ful it is that nobody need wait a sin­gle moment before start­ing to improve the world.” It says so much. We don’t have to wait for things to get bet­ter, let’s make a dif­fer­ence right now. It can be a meal for a friend, a blog post to inspire, or a hold­ing a door for some­one behind you.

    We all have super­pow­ers that can change this world, we just have to believe in our­selves and make it hap­pen.
    Karl Staib — Work Happy Now´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Why You Should Start Your Own BusinessMy Profile

    • Keith says:

      Hi Karl!

      You know, I just love every­thing I’ve ever read from Anne Frank! And the quote you men­tioned is deeply mov­ing. We really don’t have to wait for any­thing. We can act NOW to make the world better!

      Love this state­ment you made “We all have super­pow­ers that can change this world, we just have to believe in our­selves and make it hap­pen.” Awe­some Karl! Let’s make it hap­pen!
      Keith´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Liv­ing Love LoudMy Profile

  13. Evita says:

    Hi Keith,

    What a great mes­sage and a beau­ti­ful per­sonal story to go along with it!

    Well, I am all in for being an activist for love! :)

    It is so true, we need not wait for another to show us the way, we need not wait for the gov­ern­ments to enact change — it all starts with us and we can lead the way. Things can be as great as we make them, and it always starts with the choices we make in our per­sonal lives!

    Won­der­ful to see you here Keith on Lance’s site!
    Evita´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Stages of Spir­i­tual Growth &amp Devel­op­ment– From Egos to Angels– Cater­pil­lars to ButterfliesMy Profile

    • Keith says:

      Hello Evita!

      I knew YOU would be on board the “Love Activist Train”! You just may be the engineer!!

      Evita, this is great “…we need not wait for another to show us the way, we need not wait for the gov­ern­ments to enact change – it all starts with us and we can lead the way.” WHOA! That is a pow­er­ful state­ment. That needs to be painted on the side of our train!

      Thank you Evita. It was such an honor to be asked by Lance to be here. His blog is amaz­ing and to be a part of it, even in this small way, is a great expe­ri­ence. Love the Lances­ter!!
      Keith´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Liv­ing Love LoudMy Profile

  14. rob white says:

    I love the idea of being a “Love Activist”, Keith. One of the most reward­ing and pow­er­ful things I do is when I take my 88 year old poet friend Sheila out for lunch. This small act of kind­ness is an act of pure love for us both. Small acts like these eas­ily out­weigh any amount of money one could give. Most of the time we don’t even real­ize we made such an impact… that is another ben­e­fit of con­stantly spread­ing love in small ways… you never know just how it will impact oth­ers.
    rob white´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..The Sin­cere Seeker of SuccessMy Profile

    • Keith says:

      Hello Rob,

      I love that you take your 88 year old friend to lunch. I just know that every time you do, you are both richly rewarded. Love does that doesn’t it? Both the giver and receiver are ben­e­fited, a true “win-win” sit­u­a­tion every time!

      As you said Rob, we never know how deeply even a small act will affect another.

      I appre­ci­ate very much your kind com­ment and the thoughts you’ve shared.
      Keith´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Liv­ing Love LoudMy Profile

  15. Sagan says:

    Those lit­tle things are the ones that make my day — whether some­one does it for me or I do it for them. It’s the lit­tle things that I think we often appre­ci­ate the most, per­haps because we can relate very closely to small things. For exam­ple, some­times my mum buys me a gift card to the gro­cery store, “just because”. It’s awe­some! (Best. mother dear. ever.) But I’ve got to say, when she buys me a red pep­per at the store because she knows I like them and don’t buy them because they’re too expen­sive, that really warms the cock­les.
    Sagan´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Work­ing from HomeMy Profile

    • Keith says:

      Hello Sagan,

      Funny how we often want “big” things to hap­pen for us but in real­ity, those daily “lit­tle” occur­rences are what make life rich. So great of you to point that out!

      Your mum sounds like a very lov­ing soul, reminds me of my mum!

      Sagan, thank you for shar­ing your thoughts and expe­ri­ences.
      Keith´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..TRUST!My Profile

  16. b says:

    Imag­ine, within us, we are damned. That is to say, we hold block­ages that keeps the energy around us from flow­ing flu­ently within this moment. When we are finally able to release the energy from this obstruc­tion, the land­scape within us changes and is seen then as a reflec­tion in the outer world. The energy released opens up more space in our envi­ron­ment for cre­ativ­ity to flour­ish. Other dams in the exte­rior world then begin to crum­ble, and a chain of mir­a­cles then enlight­ens our Nature. The big­ger the release of spirit from within, the greater the effect in the exter­nal world.

    Imag­ine Now, that we are all enlight­ened and that we are all per­fect the way we are, and We believe this to be true with all of our Hearts. The pres­sure that we have placed upon our­selves sud­denly dis­si­pates and eases us Up. A new dimen­sion or dream-scape then opens Up, and there is room for everyone’s heart­felt dreams to come true. There are no longer any more dams to obstruct our rise to this Moments Per­fect Occasion.

    We Lead the Way and truly serve oth­ers when we learn to love our dreams. For the love that is felt from within, touches every­thing in infi­nite ways in every niche of Being. By being true to our­selves and by lov­ing our­selves, we allow oth­ers to find and love them­selves too. We all become atten­tive then to each other through know­ing that we are all related. For when we are akin to one another, their can only be kindness.

    • Keith says:

      Hello b,

      This sen­tence jumpes out at me “The big­ger the release of spirit from within, the greater the effect in the exter­nal world.” This is so very true. I have often writ­ten and spo­ken to peo­ple about how inner change always pre­cedes outer change. It hap­pens no other way.

      As you said so well, we all are con­nected and aware­ness of that is impor­tant if we are to influ­ence, with love, those around us.

      b, thank you for your insight­ful com­ments. They really help to expand an under­stand­ing of what it takes to be an Activist for Love!
      Keith´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Liv­ing Love LoudMy Profile

  17. Angelia Sims says:

    It truly is the lit­tlest things. I love this post and how inspir­ing it is to take those lit­tle steps to do great things with love.

    I have noticed in my office build­ing how LONG the ele­va­tors from the base­ment take at lunch. And of course, every­one is in a rush to get back and not be late. I saw some­one com­ing and held the door long after it would have closed. She was so grate­ful (and sur­prised). It really was a lit­tle thing, but full of kind­ness that I hope she passed on.

    Thanks Keith, won­der­ful post.
    Angelia Sims´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..A Blink After BirthMy Profile

    • Keith says:

      Hello Angelia,

      Good for you for doing that act of kind­ness. See, it may seem a small thing, but with every­one rush­ing around, focus­ing only on not being late them­selves, and along comes Angelia! She per­forms this patient act of kind­ness in the midst of chaos. The recip­i­ent was sur­prised, no doubt, because this sort of thing is the excep­tion instead of the norm. Acts just like that have more of an impact than we think. Great job!

      Thanks Angelia for shar­ing this exam­ple of Love Activism!!
      Keith´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Liv­ing Love LoudMy Profile

  18. Patricia says:

    Thank you for shar­ing this post today and for me an intro­duc­tion to Keith — I like your style and your term “love activist”. I think many folks have a PhD.d in the lit­tle things. I am see­ing so many peo­ple who try to do the “big” events and even more you qui­etly just take the moment or two to extend a help­ing or thought­ful hand.

    In the morn­ings when I walk the lake, lots of the home­less folks are wan­der­ing around wait­ing for the food cen­ters and cof­fee folks to open, I try to check in and see if any­one needs med­ical atten­tion and then use my cell phone to get one of the sup­port folks there if I dis­cover a need. The sad thing to me is that I have dis­cov­ered 3 folks I went to school with as a child who have not recov­ered from Viet Nam War.…I think they appre­ci­ate being rec­og­nized and acknowledged.

    Thank you for shar­ing this post
    Patricia´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..SMILING ON A BEAUTIFUL MORNINGMy Profile

    • Keith says:

      Hi Patri­cia,

      WOW. I am so touched by what you’re doing. Such love your show­ing these peo­ple, and you can bet they aren’t get­ting that from every­one they meet through­out their day. I think you are right. The ones whom you rec­og­nize are touched that you acknowl­ege and rec­og­nize them.

      Patri­cia, you are definit­ley an Activist for Love and I am so grate­ful for what you’re doing!
      Keith´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Liv­ing Love LoudMy Profile

  19. Hilary says:

    Hi Keith and Lance .. good to meet Keith .. I loved this thought — I did that for one old boy (my next door neigh­bour) until he turned and became the true misog­y­nist he was — as some­one else had told me he would — such is life! But I hear exactly what you’re say­ing .. and I’ve always tried to help oth­ers — I’m not as good as I should be .. and par­tic­u­larly the last few years .. but the light is ahead now and I would hope I can bring some more cheer to peo­ple .. I want to work with some of the other folk in my mother’s Nurs­ing Cen­tre, when she’s asleep, and feel now that I will have some time to give.

    Thanks Keith .. good to remind us .. Hilary
    Hilary´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Glyphs– Ps and Qs– Murder My Profile

    • Keith says:

      Hello Hilary,

      Sadly, every per­son we show love too will not be grate­ful, and some may even use us. No mat­ter, spead the love any­way and those who abuse it…well, that’s on them. All we can do is work to show love for oth­ers, the rest isn’t really up to us. I am happy that even though that expe­ri­ence wasn’t a pos­i­tive one, it did not deter you from being kind and show­ing con­cern for oth­ers. Kudos to you!

      The Nurs­ing Cen­tre idea is fan­tas­tic! Your acts of love will be greatly needed there! You go Hilary!
      Keith´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Liv­ing Love LoudMy Profile

  20. Keith, what an awe­some post (and a great site to have it on!). I love the story you shared about what Jenny did, and I really appre­ci­ate how you pointed out that it doesn’t have to be some over-the-top ges­ture. Start small, because lit­tle things add up over time, and there’s also a rip­ple effect. The other day I was dri­ving in the city and passed a guy on the side­walk who looked a lit­tle for­lorn. I smiled at him as we locked eyes for a moment. After­ward, I hoped that the energy of a smile touched his heart some­how, because I know for me, receiv­ing a smile is life affirm­ing. Actu­ally, yes­ter­day I was dri­ving and passed a young boy on a bicy­cle. He was maybe 11 or 12 years old, but he smiled at me and I thought, “WOW! Now that really felt good!“
    So sim­ple, yet so powerful.

    I will be an activist for love, Keith and I thank you for putting forth such good energy into our world!
    Megan “Joy­Girl!” Bord´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..August Mes­sage from BarbaraMy Profile

    • Keith says:

      Hello Joy Girl!

      Megan, it;s good to “see” you here and it is good to be on this site. Lance is awe­some and so is his blog.

      Over the top ges­tures are ok I sup­pose but it’s those ongo­ing, day to day, “small” acts that are chang­ing the world and hav­ing the biggest impact. I think you nailed the rea­son why that is true. THE RIPPLE EFFECT! Each and every act we do, no mat­ter if it be grand or small, has a rip­ple effect and who knows how far the reach goes. THAT excites me because I know every thing I do MATTERS!

      I love your “smile” sto­ries. I use the power of smil­ing every day, it never fails!

      Megan, you ARE an Activist fo Love for sure! I thank you for the pos­i­tive energy you are pour­ing out to the world. You most cer­tainly Rock!
      Keith´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Liv­ing Love LoudMy Profile

  21. Lance says:

    Keith,
    An “activist for love”!!! What a great way to look at the change we can all be in this world, when it’s done from a place of deep love and care! Sign me up!

    And, the exam­ple you shared — such a sim­ple thing, and yet…so, so much more. Jenny’s heart shines through brightly here (as does your, my friend!)!! And that’s really it…small things we can all do — and when they come from that deep place of love…these things are so much more than what they appear on the sur­face (like a plate of food). It’s a con­nec­tion to each other…and in that, a con­nec­tion more deeply with our own heart.

    And that is a beau­ti­ful gift…

    Keith, thank you for shar­ing your words here, and for shin­ing your amaz­ing and won­der­fully bright light that emanates from your soul. Our world (my world) is richly blessed by these gifts of yours.

    Namaste,
    Lance

    • Keith says:

      Lance,

      I am very grate­ful for the oppor­tu­nity to be a guest on your blog.
      You’re an exam­ple of an Activist for Love and all that you do, all your acts of love are rip­pling out into the world. The effects that your bring­ing about are great and can­not be mea­sured. I know this because I am one of those effects. Bless you dear friend.
      I am also grate­ful to every­one that shared their thought and expe­ri­ences. They greatly enhanced this con­ver­sa­tion and have blessed me so much. Isn’t it great, encour­ag­ing and a bless­ing to know that there are many Love Activist out there doing what they do. Show­ing love through their actions. Bless you all!
      Keith´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Liv­ing Love LoudMy Profile

  22. Lance says:

    All,
    Thank you so much for shar­ing your beau­ti­ful and car­ing thoughts here this week. Your words, like the won­der­ful thoughts that Keith shared, are touch­ing and mean­ing­ful. And more than that…they are real…and they shine to the amaz­ing good­ness that is within each of us.

    You all are beau­ti­ful souls…

    Much peace,
    Lance

  23. This post makes my tummy warm…makes me feel like flying…makes the world seem so very lovely. :) Bravo to the author and the host for con­spir­ing to share the love today. *applauds*
    Clearly Composed´s Last Fab­u­lous Post .. Grace in Action Dare– The PostcardMy Profile

    • Keith says:

      Hello Emma,

      So glad you got the “warm and fuzzies” from this post! LOL You seem so full of joy and that’s con­ta­gious! I’m smil­ing from read­ing your com­ment. :-)

      Thank you for your kind words Emma!
      Keith´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Liv­ing Love LoudMy Profile

  24. Tim says:

    Keith and Lance:

    This a an awe­some post about a really impor­tant topic. Your open­ing para­graph about peo­ple look­ing to other peo­ple as an exam­ple is so true. And your advice to start with the peo­ple clos­est to us is sim­ple, yet pro­found. This is a very inspir­ing post and I hope it will have many oth­ers becom­ing love activists. Great job!
    Tim´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Another Nap­kin and a Few LinksMy Profile

    • Keith says:

      Hello Tim,

      Yeah, some­times allit takes is for one per­son to just begin a work and before you know it…many have joined in! I’ve done this myself many times. That’s what got me to think­ing “Hey, if I take the first step maybe oth­ers will fol­low my exam­ple, in the same way I have fol­lowed the exam­ple of oth­ers” It works, :-)

      I appre­ci­ate very much your kind com­ment Tim!
      Keith´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Liv­ing Love LoudMy Profile

  25. Liara Covert says:

    One can also real­ize every­thing is per­fect as it is and remem­ber to see beyond the imper­fec­tions imag­ined into being by the mind.
    Liara Covert´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..How do you respond to ridiculeMy Profile

  26. Lauren says:

    Thanks for a lovely post. I love the thought of being an “activist for love”. What bet­ter force to acti­vate? I love the feel­ing of all the lov­ing encoun­ters I can expe­ri­ence in a day by giv­ing love.

    It’s so sim­ple. It takes so lit­tle time. It’s a mat­ter of hold­ing the intent and let­ting peo­ple know they mat­ter in what­ever small act or words we choose at a given moment.

    It feels so good to real­ize how much love we have access to in any instant. We sim­ply need to be the love we seek. Beau­ti­ful, really.

    Love,
    Lau­ren
    Lauren´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..The Truth Of A Lie– Part 3My Profile

  27. J.D. Meier says:

    I think the key is always that lit­tle shift from how to change THE world, to how to change “YOUR” world … lead­ing the change from the inside out, and expand­ing your sphere of influ­ence … like the but­ter­fly effect.
    J.D. Meier´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Day 26 – Solve Prob­lems with SkillMy Profile

  28. Colleen says:

    “There aren’t “spe­cial” qual­i­fi­ca­tions required to be an activist for love. ”

    Amen brother. We do tons of vol­un­teer work and often times lead the team. We are not espe­cially gifted, but we are will­ing and able. So, given the avail­abil­ity, we are often times put into lead­er­ship. When there are few folks will­ing and able, we are thrust into roles we might not be gifted at, but what the heck, when there is a need, who’s check­ing qual­i­fi­ca­tions, eh!
    Colleen´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Ken­newick HomesMy Profile

  29. Brenda says:

    Won­der­ful post! I am new to your ter­rific blog~ But I do believe that love is a verb…an action and deci­sion all day long…love should be vis­i­ble and alive! Love always heals…
    Brenda´s Last Fab­u­lous Post ..Tele­class– Improv­ing Your Self-Esteem with Emo­tional Free­dom Tech­niques EFTMy Profile

  30. Chris Fowler says:

    What a won­der­ful post to read, there are some of us who want to be lead­ers and make a per­sonal impact on the world whilst there are some of us who are more con­tent to just live life quietly

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