I recently had the pleasure of dog-sitting for my friends while they were on a summer vacation. During a particularly hot, steamy day that kept us inside appreciating the AC, I did a little cleaning. Nothing extravagant... hardly noticeable. When my friends returned home, I got a call thanking me for the cleaning and I heard myself say, "I always hope to leave things just a little better than before I arrived." It was the first time I had ever spoken those words out loud and they stayed with me long after the phone conversation ended. What a great "Code of Conduct" to live by: to leave everything and everyone just a little better, just a little brighter...to raise the vibration just a bit...to add something positive and leave something good behind. It doesn't need to be extravagant. It might hardly be noticeable. Just something good, positive, loving left behind without thoughts or expectations for reciprocation or acknowledgement. A smile. A gentle touch. An acknowledgement that offers the gift of being seen and heard. A small kindness. A focused attention to what is being said or done. A warm greeting. A wee delight. A sincere wish for a day of ease and joyful resolutions. A gaze that communicates, "I am present with you in this moment." An empowering word of encouragement. A helping hand. An open door. An open heart. When the moment of opportunity arrives...and it truly does arrive each and every moment...with family members, friends, co-workers, store clerks, passing strangers, fellow rush-hour travelers...when that moment arrives, I intend to remember that I have the power and the choice to leave behind something good, something positive, something loving. I intend to remember that I also have the power and the choice to be open to, to be aware of, and to receive something good, something positive, something loving from those who are offering it to me. And then, we all become a little better...we all shine a little brighter...and the life we live and the world we live in becomes a better one.
May today be a day of saying "yes" to the infinite opportunities that lie before us to leave a wake of love behind us.
May today be a day of saying "yes" to the infinite opportunities that lie before us to leave a wake of love behind us.