Today is Sweetest Day. A Hallmark holiday at best, I’ve never really thought it warranted celebration. In fact, this day is not even on my radar, but an e-mail that called it out in the subject line got me thinking about where I stand on sweetness. At first glance it appears I didn’t make much progress toward this year’s goal of going on a date, but when I look at the big picture, I’d say I learned a lot about love.
I learned how fiercely I can love my teenagers, in spite of the challenges that come with raising them. I learned to cast aside my expectations of who I thought they’d be to make room for them to show me who they are.
I learned that girlfriends demonstrate unconditional love on a daily basis. They are at the ready holding us accountable to assess ourselves objectively. They allow us to express our fears, sadness, anger, frustration and disappointment, while reminding us that we are strong, powerful, and capable of changing our worlds. They show us that we are worthy of love.
I learned that we can change the way the people around us interact, and ultimately how they see their value. We can encourage inclusion and really connect people, empowering those around us to share their ideas for positive change. By speaking emphatically about what we believe in, we can influence the direction in which our organizations move and improve the experience for our teams.
Our capacity for love is limitless, yet most of us barely scratch the surface. I’ll leave you with Brene Brown’s TEDx Houston talk on vulnerability: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4Qm9cGRub0
If we’re going to find love for ourselves in this world, the first place we need to look is within.
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