The Last Hour (Part 1)

How have you spent the last hour of your life?

Let yourself come to see just how precious a gift it is to find value in the gestures you display, the genuine conversations you have, the meaningful collaborations you engage in, and the deeds you do that bring peace.

Some people build lots of walls in their lives and not enough bridges.  Don’t be one of them.  When you look at a person, any person, remember that everyone has a story.  Everyone has gone through something that has changed them and forced them to grow.  Every passing face on the street represents a story every bit as compelling and complicated as your own.  We meet no ordinary people in our lives.  If you give them a chance, everyone has something amazing to offer.  Open yourself up.  Take small chances on people.  Let them shift your perspective.

If you think about the people who have had the greatest positive effect on your life, the ones who truly made a difference, you will likely realize that they aren’t the ones that tried to give you all the answers or solve all your problems.  They’re the ones who sat silently with you when you needed a moment to think, who lent you a shoulder when you needed to cry, and who tolerated not having all the answers, but stood beside you anyway.  Be this person for others.

People are much nicer when they’re happier, which says a lot about those who aren’t very nice.  Keep this in mind.  Also remind yourself that you can’t control how other people receive your energy.  Anything you do or say gets filtered through the lens of whatever they are going through at the moment, which has nothing to do with you.  Don’t take things personally.  Calmness is a superpower.  Just keep doing your thing with as much love and integrity as possible.

Love what you do, until you can do what you love, love where you are until you can be where you love, and above all, love the people you are with, until you can be with the people you love most.  Fewer judgments, less resistance, more love in this hour, and the next.  That’s the way we find happiness, opportunity and peace in even the most mundane situations.

Think kindly of others, speak kindly to others, and do kind things for others.  Kindness always makes a difference.  Create the little outcomes others might be grateful for at the end of their day.  Be a bigger part of what’s right in this world.  And remember, the way we treat people we strongly disagree with is a report card on what we’ve learned about true love and real kindness.