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Sunday Thought For The Day

Hands of love
Creative Commons License photo credit: LuluP

“Too often we under­es­ti­mate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a lis­ten­ing ear, an hon­est com­pli­ment, or the small­est act of car­ing, all of which have the poten­tial to turn a life around.” ~ Leo Buscaglia

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. Dave Fowler says:

    How true, and it just goes to demon­strate to me how I need to make more time for other people.

    I’ve found that ran­dom acts of kind­ness are often the most touching.

    Thanks Lance, I needed to see this today.

    Cheers

    Dave.

  2. Wendi Kelly says:

    what a sweet pic­ture. I have always loved Leo. I used to enjoy his pre­sen­ta­tions when I was grow­ing up and his books.
    very nice post to wake up to this morn­ing Lance.

    Wendi Kellys last blog post..Col­lect­ing Words of Wisdom

  3. Love this Lance. Being with peo­ple in the moment. Con­nect­ing with them in the moment is very very pow­er­ful. Con­nec­tion is the quick­est way to rise up another human being and touch, a smile, these are all ways to make a real connection.

    As is shar­ing ideas and inspi­ra­tion, which is why I love blogging!

    Kelly

  4. Bobbi says:

    The power of touch is such a great and won­der­ful thing. I think that is why I really want to adopt one day, because all peo­ple big or small need to expe­ri­ence love in the form of touch, a smile, a hug…great post!

    Bob­bis last blog post..What to do for sore legs…

  5. I do believe this. Some­one on the verge of sui­cide, if they receive a warm smile may change their mind.

    These “lit­tle” things can make a huge difference.

    Bam­boo Forests last blog post..How to Make a Bet­ter Future for Yourself

  6. Carmi says:

    One of my favorite writ­ers of all time, and a huge influ­ence in the evo­lu­tion of my own writer’s voice. It stag­gers the imag­i­na­tion when one thinks how much brighter the world would be if his words were actively fol­lowed by more of us.

    Carmis last blog post..Hur­ri­cane Gus­tav sucks. Hanna sucks, too

  7. For me the trick is to go out­side of my own com­fort zone to extend this spec­tat­u­lar power to strangers.

    Stacey / Cre­ate­a­Bal­ances last blog post..I’m Afraid of the Tooth Fairy

  8. Lanceman says:

    @Dave Fowler — Your wel­come! I too needed to be reminded of this. Kind­ness to other peo­ple is such a won­der­ful way to connect.

    @Wendi Kelly — Thank you, I too like the pic­ture very much.

    @Kelly — In the moment, that is a pow­er­ful con­cept for me. It’s easy some­times, when it’s planned, but can be alto­gether dif­fer­ent when it’s unplanned — do you do it? Do I do it? Well, I know I could be much more car­ing — and your com­ment is a great reminder for me to be “there” in the moment.

    @Bobbi — That is a won­der­ful rea­son for want­ing to adopt! To be able to pro­vide love to some­one in need is such a great way to care. What a great place to have your heart at!

    @Bamboo For­est — Wow, that’s right — a touch, a smile, a phone call — can make all the dif­fer­ence some­times. It’s seems like such a small thing, and yet, it can be gigantic…

    @Carmi — Yes, if we could all do this (or all do it more often) the world would be a much brighter place. Some­times I find myself not “car­ing’ enough, and this really reminds me that I can do a bet­ter job too. And I think that’s the best we can do — do it our­selves and set an example.

  9. FitMom says:

    So true, I think my kids LIVE for my touch. Amaz­ing how great it feels. Peo­ple can be really pos­i­tively effected by the power of a touch.

    Fit­Moms last blog post..Run­ners do it better!

  10. Evelyn Lim says:

    I tried to post just now but some­how my com­ment did not appear. I am try­ing it again!

    The photo works magic! I’ve seen it before and it is often in my mem­ory. When I hold hands with my lit­tle girls, I am reminded to trea­sure the warm touch. It’s such a sim­ple ges­ture but a very mean­ing­ful one for me!

    Eve­lyn Lims last blog post..68 Sec­onds Of Pure Thought: Visu­al­ize In 4 Cre­ative Ways

  11. Davina says:

    Hi Lance. I remem­bered it is Sun­day, and that means Lance’s Sun­day Thought for the Day. So here I am :-)

    Really like the photo and the quote. They go… ahem… hand in hand.

    Small things can change a life. I agree with Bam­boo Forest’s com­ment that a warm smile could change the mind of some­one con­tem­plat­ing suicide.

    Davinas last blog post..Swing­ing Full Circle–That’s Life

  12. Nice quote. Even though we are busier now than ever, these lit­tle things take so lit­tle time. The small amount of effort involved is SO worth it.

    Leanne Magraiths last blog post..Before and After Photos

  13. oops .…I left my web­site address in my com­ment instead of my blog. Oh well the web­site is about 90% ready anyhow.

    Leanne Magraiths last blog post..Recharg­ing Your Batteries

  14. Jenny says:

    So many times all I’ve needed was a hug to make things 100 times bet­ter. Peo­ple really under­es­ti­mate the power of touch!

    Jen­nys last blog post..Holy Mac­a­roni!

  15. Lanceman says:

    @FitMom — Touch can be a very pos­i­tive, reaf­firm­ing feel­ing. And one that we all, deep down, crave. Your kids are lucky to have you!

    @Evelyn — That is a sim­ple, yet so effec­tive action — just hold­ing hands with your girls. And, it’s as mean­ing­ful for the giver as the receiver.

    @Leanne — That’s right — this IS such an easy thing to do, why don’t we do it more often? I, too, should be more aware of the power of a touch, of hold­ing hands, of tak­ing to make this small, but pow­er­ful action.

    @Jenny — Yes, they do under­es­ti­mate it’s power. Espe­cially as the giver.

  16. Lanceman says:

    Davina, thanks for con­tin­u­ing to stop by! That’s what makes this all worth it! I couldn’t help smil­ing at the hand in hand com­ment. Small things really can make a big difference…

  17. MizFit says:

    .…to the world you may be one person…but to one per­son you may be the world.…

  18. Dr. Cason says:

    I like Leo! When I was in col­lege and far away from home I used to pick up his books and soothe my aching heart! Great quote.

    Dr. Casons last blog post..Smil­ing Boy

  19. Annette says:

    Pow­er­ful quote! I love the pic­ture too ;) It is so true how touch can make such a dif­fer­ence. I was just watch­ing a show last night about how many prob­lems a per­son can suf­fer from as an adult if they were not shown affec­tion or felt loved as a child. Have you ever noticed how when you are at the store or some­where and you give some­one a gen­uine smile or speak kindly to them, they almost looked shocked? It’s because the world has become so para­noid of oth­ers. Peo­ple tend to look past oth­ers and don’t see the world and the peo­ple right next to them.

    This quote really makes me think. We all need to be a lit­tle more human and open. A lit­tle love can change the world! I love your Sun­day Thought for the Day ;) Lance!

    Annettes last blog post..In Slow Motion Today

  20. Mark Salinas says:

    So Very true! A won­der­ful pic­ture to sum it up! :)

    Mark Sali­nass last blog post..Talli van Sunder-The Ben­e­fits of Omega-3 Fatty Acids

  21. Lance — A great pic­ture and a quote for sure.

  22. Marelisa says:

    Hi Lance: All of the research that I’ve been doing lately on sub­jects like hap­pi­ness, liv­ing longer, get­ting your brain to grow new neu­rons, and so on, point to the fact of the impor­tance of social con­nec­tion. I once read of a study with rab­bits that were overfed to test the effects of obe­sity. The rab­bits devel­oped all sorts of health prob­lems, except for one group. They dis­cov­ered that the per­son in charge of that one group of rab­bits would hold the rab­bits and talk to them as he fed them. So touch­ing and kind words are def­i­nitely powerful!

    Marelisas last blog post..15 Brain Hacks — Gym and Spa for Your Brain

  23. chris says:

    I get ter­ri­ble migraines and the only thing that can soothe me is when my wife strokes my head. A touch is truly a pow­er­ful thing.

  24. Lanceman says:

    @MizFit — That is so true!

    @Dr. Cason — He does write from the heart, doesn’t he.

    @Annette — Read­ing what you wrote, reminds me I should do sim­ple things like smil­ing more often. It’s so easy, and a great way to brighten some­one day! Thanks for shar­ing that thought here today!

    @Mark — Thanks!

    @Shilpan — Thanks!

    @Marelisa — Wow, that’s a great exam­ple of the power of touch and love in our lives!

    @Chris — Great exam­ple of the power of touch!

  25. Oh how true is THAT quote!

    meleah rebec­c­ahs last blog post..Happy Hol­i­day

  26. Lanceman says:

    Meleah — Very true, thanks!

  27. CG Walters says:

    I love these Sun­day quotes, Lance! They are are joy.
    Short, pow­er­ful state­ments that only begin one’s con­sid­er­a­tion into a sub­ject have always been a plea­sure to me.
    In fact, I was so happy to be reminded of last week’s Maya quote (at such and appro­pri­ate tme, that I am using it to lead into my col­lec­tion of pos­i­tive blog arti­cles (a blog car­ni­val) Wednes­day.
    Thank you for this fea­ture…
    Many bless­ings to you and yours,
    CG

    CG Wal­terss last blog post..Cel­e­brate What’s Right in the World

  28. Ellen Wilson says:

    I try to project my heart feel­ings out to peo­ple when I talk to them. I hope they can sense that. I won­der if I can do that via com­puter. Like now!

    E

    Ellen Wilsons last blog post..The Dis­ap­pear­ing Barns of the Midwest

  29. Lanceman says:

    @CG — Many thanks, I’m really glad you enjoy these. For me, one of the best things about these Sun­day quotes are the com­ments, and how that really helps to bring it alive for me.

    @Ellen — I do believe that we can project what our heart says. And, I do feel that in your words, thanks for shar­ing a bit of your heart here.

  30. Tammy Warren says:

    The power of touch is great. After my long Sun­day after­noon with the boys, I was able to hug my 13 year old. He use to be very sensitive…now he is find­ing him­self out there in the big world. I will hold onto the Sun­day moment for a while until I can sneak another hug in. He is a great kid. He is just a “teen.”

    I was so glad to see you in my com­ment sec­tion this morn­ing. I have so many of my read­ers that have small chil­dren. I think they can relate to a small way to me. The teen years has been tough. Not because I have a wild child, but because of the lack of “need” that my child dis­plays. He doesn’t seem to “need” mom moments any­more. That is dif­fi­cult. I remem­ber think­ing when he was small all these thoughts of what I antic­i­pated life would be when he was a teenager. They have all come true. I was not pre­pared for the silence. I will adapt. I need to stay focused on the young man that he has become.

    Tammy War­rens last blog post..A Sun­day afternoon

  31. Liara Covert says:

    This post reminds me how I have known peo­ple to grow up in con­ser­vaive fam­ily envi­ron­ments where touch­ing is just not done. Their ways of respond­ing to the world around them are very dif­fer­ent than thos peo­ple who grow up to feel more com­fort­able with explor­ing their senses. The behav­iour of peo­ple around us teaches us a lot about our­selves, what evokes our own dis­com­fort and what encour­ages us to be more open with who we are and how we really feel. Getting-in-touch with your­self is a process.

    Liara Covert´s last blog post..What if you are not wait­ing for anything?

  32. scheng1 says:

    Some­times it’s not a mat­ter of under­es­ti­mat­ing. Most of us are too busy with our thoughts to notice the kind gestures.

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