Love Should Not Be A Limited Feeling

I love the way my mom is so selfless and has to have her coffee black every morning. I love the way my dog burros his little black nose in his paws and rubs his face. I love when someone lets out a little laugh after they’ve been crying. I love how the sun feels on your face after you’ve been inside all day. I love how water feels colder when you slowly submerge your body into, rather than when you dive in and touch the water all at once.

I love the way people laugh, especially my dad, and everyone else whose laugh is contagious. I love the way waves crash on the shore. I love the peace we find in a sunrise or sunset. I love the genuine look of appreciation on people’s face when you compliment them. I love the way people’s faces light up when their favorite song comes on. I love the way people smile at their phones when someone they care about says something nice.

Love everyone you meet, every place you go, and every restaurant you eat at. At least find one thing to love about it. Even if the food isn’t great or what you expected, enjoy the service, the atmosphere, the people you are eating with. If you miss the train and end up somewhere you didn’t plan on being enjoy the weather, the way the sun peaks through the clouds, the way the grass grows through the sidewalk cracks, or the way the snow is slowly, but gracefully falling. Love the new opportunity to explore a new place or a familiar one in a new light.

You might not like someone at first, but don’t shut out the idea of them. There is so much more to people then their first impressions. Maybe they got fired, maybe their relationship ended, maybe they just found out someone in their family is sick, or maybe they are just having a bad day because we all have those. You don’t know. People usually don’t dive right into deep conversation, unless you’re like me and have a way of finagling deep conversations out of people.

There is always something to love about everything.

But loving them is different. Opening your heart and your mind to them is what is important. Don’t be so quick to judge, and if you have a hard time opening up, start with something small. Start by telling your friends what you love about them or what you love in general. Find joy in the little things; find what makes you smile uncontrollably like an idiot.

The more you open your heart to loving, the happier you will be.

So, love the way the birds chirp in the morning and the way the man holding the door half smiled at you. Love the person who offered to give you a hand with what you’re carrying. Love the way the sun reflects off your friends face as you have morning coffee together. Love the stories the old couple you meet tells, or the way they remember the other. Love the way your neighbor waves to you when you’re both getting into your car or getting your mail. Love the way the leaves slowly change colors and sway back in forth in the air until they reach the ground, then love the way they bloom back in the spring.

Love the way your life is, every little ounce of it because once you love it everything else seems to fall into place.

And remember, love is not a limited feeling.