Daily Moment of Love (DML)

Around Valentine's Day I began a daily practice of noticing signs of love in the world around me.  I didn't make it a big deal, but I wanted to notice just one thing a day that made me feel that powerful sense of love, pure and simple.  

While not a huge fan of Valentine's Day, I am a fan of love.

The seed was planted to begin this daily practice when I was walking down the sidewalk of my street on a cold winter morning.  All bundled up and briskly trudging along, I looked up to see a dog walker coming my way with 4 or 5 dogs.  As he crossed the street in front of me, without missing a beat, he threw down a skateboard, hopped on and began skateboarding behind his dogs who were happily trotting along, pulling him down the street.  It was such a surprising, joyful, lovely moment.  I felt suddenly overwhelmed with feelings of joy and love and those feelings lingered throughout the day.  I thought, man, I should really try to notice these moments each day.  To really pay attention to the simple joys of daily existence.  Instead of looking for the next big love in my life, could I relish the smaller love-infused moments that are right in front of me on a daily basis; the moments that make being in this world a real joy?  And so i've been doing just that.  It's been a really fun practice and these DMLs aren't hard to find.  They are everywhere.  Just look.

A few other DMLs worth sharing:

• On the PATH Train platform at Grove Street in Jersey City, 8am:  I was getting off my train and noticed a father and daughter on the other side of the platform.  The father was moving his arms like he was conjuring the oncoming train to arrive with some magic spell, and just like that, the headlights came shining down the track and the train pulled into the station.  The daughter shrieked with laughter at her daddy's wizardry.

•  Easter Sunday, West Village, NYC:  A man, his girl and a parrot were walking down the street.  The parrot was sitting on the guy's shoulder.  The guy and girl were holding hands.  The girl was wearing a large fancy hair clip with feathers that matched the colors of the parrot.  The end.