33.

FILL YOUR HOME WITH EVIDENCE OF LOVE

There are so many distractions in life and reminders of the problems we must deal with that it’s critical to counter this bombardment of negativity with evidence of love. Kris and I have found that it’s relatively simple (and can be very inexpensive) to fill your home with evidence of love and happiness. And when you do, you are constantly reminded of the positive aspects of life.

Evidence of love can be anything beautiful, special to your heart, artistic, airy, or light—anything that reminds you of love, kindness, gentleness, and compassion. It can be the artwork of children, fresh-cut flowers, beautiful poetry or philosophy hanging on your wall, spiritual and loving books on your coffee table, or photographs of your loved ones. An acquaintance of mind writes positive, loving affirmations in calligraphy and tapes them to her refrigerator. Others save heartfelt letters and pin them on a bulletin board.

Comedian Steve Martin used to do a hilarious skit in which he played the banjo and sang about how difficult it is to be depressed while doing so. The banjo is so upbeat and happy sounding that, while you’re playing it, it makes negativity and unhappiness seem a little silly. In a way, filling your home with evidence of love has a similar flavor to it. It’s not impossible, but it’s certainly more difficult, to get too worked up, stressed out, or depressed when there are signs of love and beauty everywhere you look.

In our home, we have photographs of friends, family, and spiritual people on many different walls. We regularly update, move around, and change the photos to keep them current and interesting. We also have great books that emphasize love visible in virtually every room, as well as beautiful artwork made for us by the kids. I’m certain that if I didn’t have kids I’d ask friends or neighbors if I could have a few of their extras. In many families there is plenty to go around, and when you ask children if they will draw you a picture, many are honored to do so. The artwork of children is so uplifting, and is such a reminder of love, that I can’t imagine not having plenty of it in my home. Our daughters also love to go outside and pick flowers from our yard and bring them into the house to put into water.

There is no specific way to go about implementing this strategy. It’s simply a mind-set. Once you see the logic behind it and feel the positive effects, I’m sure you’ll be hooked. There is simply no downside to this idea. Starting today, begin filling your home with even more evidence of love. Every time you walk in the door, you’ll be glad you did.