The fact that you exist is nothing short of a miracle.
Your life is a gift. And how you live your life is your thank you letter to the universe.
You can take your life for granted and live your life from a mindset of entitlement… or you can live from a place of gratitude paired with the intention of contribution.
You can take or you can give.
Be a drain, or a gain.
Entitlement: “Well, I was invited to this party so I might as well eat all of this free food. It’s just sitting here so it’s obviously for me. If someone wanted me to stop stuffing my face they would tell me!”
Gratitude and contribution: “I am so humbled to have been invited to this amazing party. The decorations and people are beautiful, the food is beyond belief, and I will do whatever I can to chip in and make the party that much more amazing for everyone in attendance. Even the people who get here later tonight after I’ve left….. I want to make their experience better as well.”
Think of these two options every time you make any micro-decision in your life.
Will you aim to passive-aggressively pressure your partner into sex because they owe it to you? Or will you spend your day off doing all of the housework, making them their favourite meal, and proactively solving a problem in their life for them (without expectation of reciprocity, sexual or otherwise) because you simply love them that much?
Will you only call up your friends when you need something from them? Or will you regularly think of ways to make their lives better and tell them how much (and why) you love them simply because they deserve to be treated in such a way by their good friend?
Will you only put in genuine effort into your work when you’re fairly confident that it will be noticed, rewarded, and get you a promotion? Or will you put in your best effort all the time, regardless of whether or not you think it will result in short-term goals, because you know you’ll feel better about yourself if you do good work as it’s own reward?
Lead with the giving hand. Be kind to people. Live your entire life as if it were a love letter to the world that you inhabit.
At your funeral, people won’t be talking about your bank balance. They won’t be talking about the promotions you did or didn’t receive. They won’t be talking about your BMI, cholesterol, or complexion. They’ll be talking about how you made them feel. They’ll be talking about all of the nice things that you did, said, and were, that positively impacted the lives of the people who remained. In short, they will celebrate the love that you were able to infuse into the world with the way that you lived your life.
Whether you predominantly focus on giving or getting is your choice, always.
So…
What love letter will you write to the world?
–
–
–
If you enjoyed this post, you’ll likely also love reading:
– 31 Ways To Spread More Love Into The World
– I Believe In Loving Like You Give A Shit
