Love Has No Labels
We are all human, and we all love alike. Love has no race, no age, and no gender. If you love this beautiful little video as much as I do, visit lovehasnolabels.com to learn more about the Love Has No Labels campaign.
Posts tagged with “Love”
52 Ways to Tell Someone You Love and Appreciate Them
“The most important thing in this world is to learn to give out love and let it come in.” ~Morrie Schwartz
As a child, I never heard the phrase “I love you.” Now, I hear people say it all the time—at the end of phone calls and whenever parting ways.
When I moved away from my hometown of Adelaide, South Australia, twenty years ago, I noticed how much less I felt loved interstate in Melbourne, Victoria. Even though I didn’t hear “I love you” when I was in Adelaide, somehow I knew people cared.
Soon after I arrived here, I …
Forgiving and Refusing to Let Bad Things Change Us
“Humbleness, forgiveness, clarity and love are the dynamics of freedom. They are the foundations of authentic power.” ~Gary Zukav
It was a little after 9:00 PM when my mother’s next-door neighbor called upset, hysterical even. Within seconds of hearing her voice, I knew something wasn’t right.
I was getting one of those calls that everyone dreads. Deep breath. She said that my mother had been brutally attacked and had been taken to the hospital.
Breathe Leslie.
“What happened?” I asked in my calmest voice, trying hard to listen and not react. “Where is she? What hospital?”
A family friend had …
10 Things Everyone Should Learn as a Kid
“There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children. One of these is roots, the other wings.” ~Johann Wolfang von Goethe
In 2010 two major life events marked my life forever: my father lost his battle with melanoma and I become a mother.
Both events came unexpectedly. My father was only fifty-six years old and had never been sick for one day of his entire life. Also, I had other plans at the time, focusing heavily on my career, so I did not want to have a baby just yet.
But life is what actually happens …
Why Experiences Trump Things and Bring Us Closer
“Every experience, good or bad, is a priceless collector’s item.” ~Isaac Marion
Last year was a thrilling one for my sweet boys, ages eight and eleven. Thanks to birthdays, Diwali, and Christmas, they were fortunate enough to receive most of the things they’d been begging for throughout the year.
As we sat on our couch on New Year’s day, I asked them what their best memories were from 2014. Surely, I thought, they would rattle off the highly anticipated iPod touch or the Giants jersey that topped their wish lists.
But much to my surprise (and my joy), my younger …
3 Things Kids Do That Can Lead to Self-Love & Happiness
“When you recover or discover something that nourishes your soul and brings joy, care enough about yourself to make room for it in your life.” ~Jean Shinoda Bolen
As we grow older, a lot of us fall out of love with ourselves, and as a result, have a hard time figuring out what we value and what lights us up.
Self-love is crucial to creating a life that aligns with our desires because it serves as our inner compass, empowering and enabling us to steer our life in a direction that makes us happy. Otherwise, we end up turning …
Family Isn’t Always Forever: When It’s Time to Say Goodbye
“Friends are the family we choose for ourselves.” ~Edna Buchanan
A few years ago I ended all contact with my parents, and I have not seen or spoken to them since then.
The truth is I am actually okay with that. Initially, I thought I was going to lose my mind. I had been brought up to believe that family comes first. Children should respect and take care of their parents. Family should—and will—always be there for each other.
Those beliefs were based on love, and I cherished them.
I wanted so much to feel that connection—that unconditional love those …
A Broken Heart Is an Open Heart
“A broken heart is not the same as sadness. Sadness occurs when the heart is stone cold and lifeless. On the contrary, there is an unbelievable amount of vitality in a broken heart.” ~Elizabeth Lesser
“I love you but I’m not in love with you” was the line my first boyfriend used when he broke up with me. I was twenty-two.
We were only together six months but I cried over him for a solid year, thinking a few parallel thoughts: “If I were thinner and prettier he would’ve been in love with me,“ “How could he not be in …
How to Stop Shaming and Start Loving Yourself
“Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world straight in the face.” ~Helen Keller
It’s discouraging, isn’t it?
Walking around every day feeling as if you’re never enough?
Comparing yourself to others and continually coming up short?
You feel as if you’re not smart enough, talented enough, organized enough, or disciplined enough. You’ve made mistakes, some small and some big but all of them embarrassing.
Fortunately, you and I are gloriously human and perfectly imperfect. We falter and fly, fall and triumph, cry, laugh, forget, remember, hurt, heal, dream, and love. Our one-of-a-kind uniqueness is amazing, really.…
Soul Pancake’s Heart Attack: A Public Explosion of Love
Soul Pancake always creates fun, uplifting videos, and this one is no exception. They built a mysterious white box on a busy boardwalk to surprise people with a burst of joy. Ready for a love explosion?
How to Stop Tying Your Worth to Things Outside Yourself
“If you find yourself constantly trying to prove your worth to someone, you have already forgotten your value.” ~Unknown
There’s nothing like being one of the few black kids in your school to make you feel like the odd person out.
Well, that was my experience, anyway. I appreciate my parents’ desire to provide my brother and me with a safe neighborhood to live in and a good education, but growing up in a predominantly white area really affected me. I very rarely felt like I fit in among my peers.
That didn’t stop me from trying, though. I did …
How to Motivate Yourself Instead of Criticizing Yourself
“I define depression as a comparison of your current reality to a fantasy about how you wish your life would be.” ~Dr. John Demartini
I always wanted to do things “right.” I was the little kid at the front of the room, raising her hand for every question. I was great at pushing myself to succeed and please.
My drive to be perfect was an asset through college and law school. I rocked high grades and landed a big firm job right out of school. But that same drive drove me right into a therapist’s office at twenty-five, where I …
How to Tell When Someone Needs a Friend
“Don’t wait for people to be friendly. Show them how.” ~Unknown
When I was in high school I was shy, to say the least. I guess a more accurate description would be to say that I was insecure. Painfully insecure.
Looking back, I don’t know why I cared so much. But I did. I was too insecure to ever say hi to anyone in any of my classes, or to try to sit with anyone new at lunch.
There were even some days when I went through the entire school day without speaking a word. I felt utterly alone …
You Are My Sunshine – 66 Years of Love
Colleen Pinnegar spent three months by her husband’s side after he broke his hip (helping a ninety-year old neighbor who’d fallen) and then contracted an infection in the hospital.
In this touching video, taken at a time when James suspected the end was near, they sing “You Are My Sunshine,” their theme song for over sixty years of marriage.
How to Know If You’re with the Right Person
“Our lives improve only when we take chances and the first and most difficult risk we can take is to be honest with ourselves.” ~Walter Anderson
I’m not actually interested in telling you if you’re with the right person. I’m interested in you discovering who you really are. If you’re not in the right relationship, you probably shouldn’t try so hard to make it “work.” Sometimes the right thing to do is walk away.
But the big gap here is in the knowing. The knowing if it’s right or not. The truth is that you don’t actually need somebody …
Releasing Labels: Be What You Love, Not What You Do
“Authenticity is the daily practice of letting go of who we think we’re supposed to be and embracing who we are.” ~Brené Brown
I thought I was supposed to have a shiny job, the kind that makes people envious at cocktail parties.
We had moved with my husband’s job again. I think it was move number six out of nine and we were over at a friend’s house. There were people I didn’t know there, and I could feel myself avoiding them in case they asked “the question.”
The question was “So,” (pause to look at drink), “what do …
70 Ways to Make Others Feel Special
“Be the person that makes others feel special. Be known for your kindness and grace.” ~Unknown
There is someone in my life that has an extraordinary talent for making people feel special. I would call him out by name, but he’s a fairly private person, so we’ll just call him “E.”
It’s not that E makes people feel that they are somehow greater than others. He recognizes what’s special about everyone he encounters, and through his attention, kindness, and generosity, brings out the best in them.
He doesn’t do this through grand gestures, and not with expectations of receiving anything …
Practicing Loving-Kindness Even When (Especially When) You Are Hurting
“Have a heart that never hardens, and a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts.” ~Charles Dickens
All of us have been hurt or angered by someone’s words at some point. Some words are blatantly cruel, and others are deceptive, appearing to be in our best interest but only ever leading us astray. These are the messages that leave us questioning who we are or how we should be.
I’ve been labeled timid and stuck-up. Speak up more, but stop interrupting. Be more assertive, but don’t complain. Be more outgoing, but be authentic.
I’ve been called …
Transforming Shame Into Love, One Good Deed At A Time
“No one is useless in the world who lightens the burdens of another.” ~Charles Dickens
A few years back, I saw a sticker that read, “Be the change you wish to see in the world. –Gandhi.”
My knee-jerk reaction was annoyance because the sticker was affixed to the bumper of a car that turned left in front of me. I was in the middle of a long stretch of bad days, so pretty much anything would have set me off.
My search for happiness during that bleak period seemed fruitless, most likely because I didn’t know that happiness is not …
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