Monday, February 7, 2011

What Does Love Look Like?

I was driving down the road in Texas one day and while scanning the radio stations I heard the song by Johnny Lee, “Looking for love in all the wrong places…”
I thought, Wait a minute, how can we look for something unless we know what it looks like?

What does LOVE look like?

Most often when we look at society today, love is not the first, second, or even the third thing we see.  However, when we put our LOVE shades on, we get to see the world from a totally different perspective.

What does LOVE look like? Let’s examine closely and as in approaching any goal, let’s start with the END in mind: E. V. O. L.

E – Experience it
There is an old poem that says: 
“I love myself so much
So that I can love you so much
So that you can love you so much
So that you can start loving me”  (Author Unknown)

One can never give something that they have never experience or have not realized they possess.

Joy Golliver stated that, “The meaning of life is finding your gifts; the purpose of life is to give it away”.

Love isn’t love until you give it away.  It’s the gift that keeps on giving. Experience it.

V – Voluntary Self-Sacrifice 
(Doing things out of Love and not obligation, manipulation, or reciprocation)

It involves Going the extra-yard even though it may cost you or inconvenience you.
You’ve heard the saying, “People don’t care how much you know, they want to know how much you care.”
When was the last time you Voluntary Self-Sacrificed with NO STRINGS ATTACHED?

O – Ordinary Acts becoming Extraordinary Expressions
Say it with me, “OH!” “OH!” is the response you will get when you do something for someone that may be ordinary to you but becomes an extraordinary expression to them just because of the care you took in doing it.
As a child my Mom would bake cakes for the family and other people.  I would always look forward to being able to lick the batter from the mixing bowl.  No matter where I was in the house my Mom would often save the bowl and call me to do the “cleaning”.  Sure it was just a bowl of leftover batter; but for me it was an Ordinary Act becoming an Extraordinary Expression of love.

L – Look, Listen, & Fill
My wife’s mom passed away when she was only 13 years old.  That was the last time, she remembered riding in a limousine.  When we were planning our wedding, she shared that story with me and didn’t want to ride in a limousine on her wedding day.  That story stuck with me.  However, 5 years into our marriage I was able to surprise her at the house with a white limousine, red carpet, and a night on the town to replace the childhood memory with something wonderful.  To this day, 11 years later, she smiles when we talk about it.
(As you can imagine…I was the man that night!!!...and it was all because I Looked, Listened, & Filled)

There are opportunities all around us everyday to express love.  However, it takes a willful act on our part to not just look and listen, but also to fill.

If you truly desire to make the most of your life, fuel your life daily with the right stuff.
Look for ways to…
Experience Love
Do Voluntary Self-Sacrifices
Make Ordinary Acts Extraordinary Expressions
Look, Listen & Fill
Then you will be equipped and have the strength to take on and overcome any challenge that comes your way.   As William M. Thackeray once said, “To love and win is the best thing.  To love and lose is the next best thing.” 

Now! That’s what LOVE looks like.  

Take the opportunity to make today and every day an expression of LOVE.  
Aim High…
© 2011 Aldean Pearson
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Aldean “Al” Pearson is a Professional Speaker, Trainer, and Growth Coach.  He is the Co-Founder of the LĪVE! movement, a speaking, training and coaching organization committed to developing extraordinary people, families, and businesses. His “up-front and candid,” yet at times humorous approach empowers his clients and audiences to look past their limitations to find the hidden gems of capability within. He is married with twin boy and girl. 
Contact: AlPearson1@gmail.com

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