I love Valentine's Day! I love the topic of love, so I started a series of messages about all different ways to express love on new coaching page on Instagram. I used to teach ESL (English as a second language) for visiting international students from elementary to high school ages at Global Camp. I taught an American culture and conversational English class. The students and I had so much fun and formed lifelong connections! One of my favorite lessons to teach was that while we all come from different backgrounds, cultures and lifestyles with varying degrees of language skills, we can all practice the universal language of love. At the center of our being, we are all human with a beating heart. We can break through language and cultural barriers by listening to one another with compassion and empathy. In fact, we do not have to even like each other or agree with each other's world view to embrace our common humanity that binds us. We are called to treat each person with dignity and decency. I taught my students that one of the best things we can do when we meet people that are not like us is to look for similarities and not our differences. I used to feel I was doing my part in that little classroom to promote world peace. I adored my students and will never forget the love that happened in our classroom.
Our world is at war. It always has been and at times more than others. People are suffering all over the world. We are more aware than ever with the reach of social media. It can feel overwhelming about what to do. Yet, each person can decide to do what we can with what we have where we are. It starts with kindness and often times we have to fight for it. Love is a worthy cause.
Come on over to @_thecoachestoolbox_ and check out my series on love. Wishing you much love, peace and grace.