holidays

25 Days of Spreading Love – A countdown to Christmas: Dec. 3

/ christinaparisi / Leave a comment

For the original idea, please go here.

22 Days till Christmas – spreading love with a friend

A little while ago, I was listening to a filmmaker talk during a panel discussion and he mentioned how he was good at being a filmmaker, a dad and a husband but not so good at being a friend.

That’s always stuck with me. I understand what prioritizing is all about and how friendships can be difficult to maintain when other things come before them.

But a beautiful thing about friendships is that the door can always remain open. And I truly appreciate my friends who understand the way I prioritize my life.

I had made plans to go to a dear friend’s place for tea today. We haven’t had one-on-one time in months. I decided to go to her and spend the couple hours we had (before I had to go to work) just listening and being there for her.

The universe works in mysterious ways. She actually needed to talk about something and I had no idea. We spent our visit doing just that.

I think more times than not, being a friend means just listening. And rather than judging, just sharing your thoughts.

 

Spread the love. #spreadthelove

 

25 Days of Spreading Love – A countdown to Christmas: Dec. 2

/ christinaparisi / Leave a comment

For the original idea, please go here.

23 Days till Christmas – spreading love with letters

A while ago, I read a memoir by Hannah Brencher, “If You Find This Letter”, which details her journey of creating “More Love Letters”,  a global organization that is geared toward compiling letters of encouragement and support for people who need them.

When I read her book, I was moved. I thought the idea of strangers spreading love through letters was both simple and brilliant. But I never did anything about it… until today when my Spread the Love project made me think of her movement. So I looked it up and got to work.

These personal acts of letter writing are perfect for the time we live in as impersonal forms of communication reach a peak. I’m drawn to Hannah’s idea because it utilizes global connection along with good old-fashioned handwritten letters, which one can argue is becoming a lost art form.  It merges the strengths of both.

For the second day of spreading the love, I participated in The World Needs More Love Letters Movement. I drafted four letters to the individuals currently listed on the site and popped them in the mail.

This is only the beginning of my love letter writing though. As I wrote these letters to strangers in need, I found myself genuinely wanting to be helpful and encouraging and loving. I signed up for their newsletter and will now actively be a participant.

Sometimes, people just need to know they’re not alone. And a love letter to a stranger can be an excellent way to show that.

Spread the love. #spreadthelove

25 Days of Spreading Love – A countdown to Christmas: Dec. 1

/ christinaparisi / 2 Comments

For the original idea, please go here.

25 Days to Go – spreading love at yoga

I recently signed up for yoga classes at a studio near my home. Today I tried something called Kundalini and Meditation. It balances deep breathing techniques with body movement that’s both peaceful and emotional. Chanting and meditation are part of it as well.

During the practice, I couldn’t help but notice the participant right next to me because she was breathing very loudly. It was difficult to focus with the intense huffing and puffing that was taking place an arm’s length away from me.

My first impulse was to roll my eyes and try to figure out a way to discreetly move my mat.

But then, I realized this was a great opportunity to spread some love.

Rather than roll my eyes, I smiled at her.

Minutes later, the instructor had us all form a circle for a healing meditation. She mentioned someone could lay in the center if they wished. A minute later, my nearby yoga breather claimed it.

After the chant, as we all returned to our mats, the one from the center stood and thanked everyone for her experience. No one seemed to be paying much attention to her. No response was given by anyone.

So I continued to smile and nod and listen to what she was saying. After she was done, I told that her experience sounded cool and gave her another smile. She smiled back, happy to share.

Spread the love. #spreadthelove

Spread the Love

/ christinaparisi / Leave a comment

When I married my husband a few months ago, I glimpsed into a future world of love, a love that years ago I wasn’t sure existed. Every day he shows me what it means to love and be loved.

I can’t say I’ve always been particularly closed off to love but I also can’t say I’ve been the type to welcome it in with open arms either. I’m 38 so I know that I’m part of the group “who waited to get married.”

I used to think love was complicated. I used to think love meant pain. I focused more on me than on finding someone else to love.

Ah, youth. And my early thirties.

The universe smiled on me though, taught me some lessons and then introduced me to the man I’ll be with till, well… it decides to take him back I suppose. But at present, I’ll focus on the here and now. Which leads me to this blog post.

Though I have been given this gift, I sometimes fail to always recognize it and appreciate it. I’ve found myself taking love for granted recently. And I’ve had moments of feeling anger over stupid things.  I’ve spoken to people in my life not from a place of love but from a darker place and at times when I could have projected warmth and understanding, I chose distance and lack of care.

What better time to realize this and want to change it than during the holidays?

I want to walk the talk though. And I’d love to invite you along with me as I do another blog project. (For past ones, click here, here and here.)

Starting tomorrow, December 1, I’ll be counting down the days until Christmas with a daily blog post detailing a way I’ve spread love and put it out in the world.

I realize love can be defined in more ways than maybe any other word used but for purposes of this blog project, I’ll be using the word to mean expressions of kindness and good will.

We live in a world that is far from perfect. People get hurt and die every day, in horrific ways. That is the reality of life. So why not try to balance it with acts of love? And maybe if we begin to do it consciously, it will become part of the fabric of who we are.

So why not meet me here tomorrow (posts will go up at various times but will be daily) and begin this journey with me? Let’s spread the love!