LovePrints. Stoneman Douglas High School Bracelets. A thank you...

Thank you.

Any action in love is thanks worthy. Any love in action deserves praise.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Watching the students and staff of Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida go through the horrific shooting, my heart was aching. My spirit was suffering, and I needed to rally. I needed to go to the one thing and place that heals and strengthens me. I went to love.

I did not want to have the same discussions and debates. They do not accomplish anything. I needed to act, and I needed to act in love. One of the constants of LovePrints is “action in love, love in action.” I wanted to do something. I needed to do something. What to do? What to do?

“A heart is love. Hands are action. Separately, love without action does not accomplish much, and action without love does not accomplish good at all. Together, they can accomplish anything and everything grand.”

My brain and heart searched collectively for something that would matter. I wanted it to be inclusive. There was a second of fear that no one else would care, but since I choose to chase fear away with love, that did not last long. I decided to send hugs. I decided to send love. I decided to send a reminder to the people of Stoneman Douglas that would say that people care. We care.

We have never met the people of Stoneman Douglas High School, but we know them. We are them. We never let those we care about stand alone. We never let them feel like no one cares. I decided to reach out to my friends to see what they thought. What I found out was amazing.

They cared.

Grand empowering comes from love and unity. Go! Let’s! Yes!

They also understood. They also wanted to send love and hugs. They also wanted to act in love. They decided to love out loud.

I started a GofundMe account to pay for the creation of LovePrints bracelets with the school name on it. There are 3000 students and 500 teachers, staffs, and other. I wanted to send each of them a bracelet. Each bracelet serves as a hug, as love, and as a reminder. They matter. We care. They are loved. We love.

4000 bracelets are on their way to Stoneman Douglas High School. The Principal and his assistants will make sure that each person affiliated with the school receives one. Inside the box is a note that simply says “You are strong. You are loved.”

To every person who donated, thank you. No matter how much, it matters. It is a beautiful statement that no one is alone. It is a powerful thing to act in love. I am in tears typing this because each of you restores my faith that we are the decent and loving souls that we say that we are. We are strong. We are loving. We are good.

Your love is powerful. Your action is strong. Your love in action is a LovePrint that for one day will cover the people of Stoneman Douglas High School in love. You did that. You covered them in love!

Thank you!

LovePrints. Dear Us.

Dear Us.

America, we are powerful. Our deeds have impact, as do our words. When we use them directly in someone’s name, it has more value.

Please, lets use them for love. Let’s use them for good. We deserve it.

Bullying comes in several forms, and none of them are purposeful or good. One such form is verbal abuse. It has several subsets, from face to face, untruths, and malice. In some cases, it is the devaluing of another person by not identifying them by the name given to them, or the name they have chosen. It is the dropping of names.

Why would you ever want to call someone something other than their name?

Put the labels away. Let’s use names. Let’s use love.

Generalizations are problematic. It is mentally lazy, and emotionally disconnected. Call people by their name. Say it to them. Give them credit for who they are, and what the name is for. It is being present enough to tell them that their name matters. We all deserve it. We are all worthy.

Use your words for good. Use your words with love. Call a person by their name and use love to do so. Identify an act by its name and speak to it for the good of us all. If an act is good, say so. If an act is not good, speak to the person committing the act and demand better from them, and tell them specifically why.

Use our names with love. Add a thank you. Add a you are welcome. Feel generous in using please. Feel free in using first and last names. (Leave the middle names for parents) Feel free to repeat them all, with love.

Every courtesy that we were ever taught starts with addressing people by their names, and by adding love to it by our actions.

Social media has created walls that do not need to exist. It has created voids that have been used to do damage and cause pain. Those spaces can be filled. Those spaces cannot exist when love is present. When confronted with a situation where your voice is required, find names and love before addressing it. Online allows for disconnected voices from the shadows. It allows for loud noises from the dark. Love can add light and cause a connection.

Your next post is important. Your next text. Your next call. Be the light. Be present. Be love.

Use your words to make the deed a love filled one. Speak directly, and specifically. If someone did something worth speaking on, say their name. If someone did something that requires questioning, say their name. Do not add them to a group. Do not allow them to remain nameless. Connect to them, their name, and do something good from that point. We need it. We will all be better for it.

Leave those group names and anonymous ghosts alone. Get personal. Give credit where it is due. Ask questions to where they can get answers. Give love to someone specific. Act in love to someone. Use their name. You want them to know that what you say and do matters. Be present.

America, we are powerful. Our deeds have impact, as do our words.

Please, let’s use them for love. Let’s use them for good.

We ALL deserve it.