By Jen Pastiloff.
I just came to the library to write. I see this man standing and looking at some books. He has a sign on his chest that says “Be Love.” I ask him if I can take a picture and he happily obliges. I turn around to get some money in my wallet (he’s homeless, that much was evident. There are a lot of homeless that hang out at the Santa Monica library.) I turn back around and he’s taken the sign off. “Pictures free” he says “but you have to wear this for 2 hours. I’m David, what’s your name?” I ask him to tie it around my neck. He says if anyone asks me what it’s about to tell them “It’s a demand.” I gave him a hug and two bucks and went up the stairs to write. The smiles I got as I walked to my little table by the window. Be love, be love, be love. Part of my book talks about the messengers in our lives. David was one such messenger indeed. Be love. Pass it on.
ps, he’d also never taken a pic with an iPhone before and the pic of me below was his first one ever. Pretty pretty good.
Later that night…
So I wore the “Be Love” sign to class tonight. I walked in and said “Can anyone guess what the theme is tonight?” Everyone laughed at the obviousness of it, but, as someone said after class, when she came to me with tears in her eyes, the room “softened.” She said, verbatim, that she had never seen anything like it. If you don’t know what sign I am talking about, see the post below this with the pic included. A homeless man was wearing the sign today and after I took a picture of him, he took it off and told me “Picture is free but you gotta wear the sign.” So I did. Being true to my word and all. The girl with tears in her eyes said that tonight’s class was like a poem, which, as you know, just might be the greatest thing to say to me.
Did I do that? Nah. The sign on my chest did.
You see, no one could resist it. Even the grumpy dudes in the back who think I talk too much and “can’t we just downdog?”, even they smiled and giggled at the sign. It softened the room because, well, love does that.
However you look at it, really, we should all be wearing such signs.
Even if they are invisible.
Even if only we can see it.
As I drove to teach my class I was behind a guy who was driving way below the speed limit and turned with using a blinker, a guy I deemed “asshole” to myself. Out loud. In my car.
Which made me chuckle. Here I was, with a big ole BE LOVE cardboard sign on my chest and I was calling some stranger an asshole.
I laughed at myself and pretty quickly thanked the cardboard for keeping me in check. Be congruent, Jen. You are love. Be love. Or, as Jesse on Breaking Bad would say: Be love, yo. (I apologize for any BB inside jokes. My obsession runs deep.)
May I always have a sign on my chest. Whether I can see it or not. May we all remember that we have these signs on our chests. may we all remember to Be LOVE.
Thanks David, the homeless man I met in the library today, who passed on the love to me. I hope you know what you’ve done, my dear sir. My big dear hearted sir. I just hope you have some small inkling, whoever and wherever you are.
Jennifer Pastiloff, Beauty Hunter, is the founder of The Manifest-Station. Check out jenniferpastiloff.com for all retreat listings and workshops to attend one in a city near you. Next up: South Dakota, NYC, Dallas, Kripalu Center For Yoga & Health, Tuscany. She is also leading a Writing + The Body Retreat with Lidia Yuknavitch Jan 30-Feb 1 in Ojai (sold out) as well as Other Voices Querétaro with Gina Frangello, Emily Rapp, Stacy Berlein, and Rob Roberge. She tweets/instagrams at @jenpastiloff.
What a great experience to have! Thank you for sharing it. I love that a man who many people would have simply ignored became a messenger to you and to all of us really. Just thinking “be love” changes my entire mood!
What a great idea. Love it.
This post made me smile. You wearing that sign is perfect. YOU are the definition of love messenger.
Lucky you!
What beautiful energy radiating from his face …. crinkly eyes, great mischievious smile!
It’s all meant to be this simple.
eyes open, heart soft.
x0
nancy
p.s.
have a poem to send you which resonates with both of your smiles
Thank you for the reminder! Simple yet powerful.
Wow! This is a really awesome experience to have Jen. #Big smile
Two words and our lives changes.
Two people and the meaning deepens. Imagine with more people!! =)
So wonderful! Thank you for sharing, Jen.
I’m happy for you to experience such synchronicity as the universe is offering to you what you need…
How beautiful for us all to BE LOVE. How brilliant that we all already are. 🙂
Thank you for sharing the beautiful be love story. I have a sticker on the back of my phone that says “BE LOVE PASS IT ON”” there is a website called that, you might be interested in checking it out. Simple words:) on the front of my golf cart I have the words ” be kind”. ( I live on Catalina island) so many times they are the perfect reminder as well. Namaste, Leslie
awesomenes at every level. love reminders everywhere, if we just take the time to look and feel..and you did. thx for sharing an amazing love story. i will start a movement here…i just got inspired. I will where one for a day and pay it forward. xoxoxo
Love and Light to you.
Reblogged this on Think Good Inc..
Jennifer, great to find your blog. A friend of mine posted it on Facebook and tagged me… You see, BE LOVE has been my daily spiritual practice for over 3 years. It has transformed my life and how I am showing up in the world. I even made reminders for myself and began to pass out thousand of BE LOVE wristbands to people throughout the country. I suspect that this is how Leslie got her sticker. Way to go Leslie! I recently became a licensed minister and am starting a spiritual community in the Bay Area. The main purpose is “We are here to BE LOVE.” This is such a beautiful story and I will use the sign method that David shared to continue to share wristbands with people I connect with in the world. May we all choose to BE LOVE and Pass It On.
On last note… I shared your story on my FB page… Hope other people get to see your blog. It’s wonderful.
https://www.facebook.com/belovenow
Love this! Also, love knowing another Jennifer obsessed with BB is out there in our universe. 🙂
Reposted on Sweet Spot:Truthtelling page on Facebook – a page about Writing A New Story of our lives. https://www.facebook.com/SweetSpotTruthtelling
What a joyful reminder for us to be who we already are. Only in the clarity of true love can we see who we truly have always been, still are, and always will be.
Dear Jen,
A friend of mine shared your post via dailygood.org and I’m delighted to have discovered you and this post that I resonate deeply with.
I’m glad you had this experience and now you’ve passed it along for others to be aware of. With something like this, you’ll never know exactly how much good you’re doing, but trust and know that you are.
My motto is BE LOVE TO OTHERS. #belovetoothers @belovetoothers
I recently published my manifesto by the same title.
I am going to enjoy exploring the rest of your website.
Bless you!
Bill
Dear Jen,
A friend of mine shared your post via dailygood.org and I’m delighted to have discovered you and this post that I resonate deeply with.
I’m glad you had this experience and now you’ve passed it along for others to be aware of. With something like this, you’ll never know exactly how much good you’re doing, but trust and know that you are.
My motto is BE LOVE TO OTHERS. (#belovetoothers @belovetoothers)
I recently published my manifesto by the same title.
I am going to enjoy exploring the rest of your website.
Bless you!
Bill
Some one directed me to this post from FB, and it has made my morning! Lovely to discover your blog, look forward to stopping by for a read again!
I get a daily newsletter from ‘dailygood.org’. Genreally i just see the subject and the first quote in the text and that’s what decides if i read it or not. But this post just caught my attention form the very first line. love it. i will definitelt make one of those signs and probably wear them around someday. 🙂
Thank you for being an expression of love .
[…] wrote about it here. Elizabeth Gilbert even shared the story. It was pretty heartwarming. I said may we all walk around […]