I Wanna Do This
Why we do it
“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.”
– Mother Teresa
Living life through the lens of compassion and taking action through kindness is one of the most healing things we can do for ourselves and others. A compassionate act can be quite simple. The smallest act of extending a kind word or a smile to a stressed store clerk or stranger can have an immediate positive effect. Most smiles are returned with smiles, with no words are needed to know that it delivered a 2-way benefit.
Often the seed of compassion grows when one experiences a personal trauma or tragedy. The Abundant Love Project grew out of my personal grief over losing my daughter Kate. When a person experiences a shakeup of this magnitude, one looks at those they meet and wonders how loss and grief have touched them. The truth is that life brings both joy and pain. It is inescapable, and your eyes see the world differently after a painful experience. I guess that’s the real start of compassion.
There’s a well-known quote that reads:
“If you knew a person’s story there’s no way you couldn’t love them.”
In this world there are so many invisible people that are suffering. I use the word invisible because no one notices them. They appear “okay” because their pain isn't on the surface. It’s deep inside, away from view. And most societies aren’t comfortable with very sad people or invading a stranger’s space by offering them a hug.
What The Abundant Love Project does is reach people through a random act of kindness. Through some type of divine timing, the stones have a way of finding the right people at the right time. Each recipient of a “love stone” is delighted, appreciative, and sometimes downright amazed.
“I'm not quite certain what this project is all about yet but I just found an Abundant Stone on my sidewalk by my front door when I arrived home last night. I had a very stressful evening. The holidays are very hard and lonely for me. This year seems exceptionally so. Your brightly colored stone brought tears to my eyes and hope that this season might not be all bad. For what ever reason your stone was set on my sidewalk, I'll never know. Nor will I know who placed it there except that divine timing had something to do with the heart of the people involved. Thank you for putting a smile on my face and a tear of hope in my eyes last night! Bless all of you who are involved in this project.”
This is why we make stones and leave them for others. With thousands of people making Abundant Love Stones around the world, compassion is actively reaching one person at a time, and touching their heart with love. Many participants say that making and hiding stones is fun and addicting in the best way possible.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama XIV, said it best:
“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.”
― Dalai Lama XIV, The Art of Happiness
