A New Challenge: 14 Days of Love

Love Thy Neighbor Challenge

At the end of every year, we all give a little more and we love a little more. At Thanksgiving and Christmastime, we’re inspired to help the needy, share the warmth of our home with friends and extend our love more than we have all year.

What if we could do that several times a year?

Welcome to the 14 Days of Love! A new challenge will be released each day from February 1 to 14 (just in time for Valentine’s Day!) and will focus on acts of loving thy neighbor. Who that is in your life is up to you. It literally can be your neighbor! Or a person you haven't seen in years or a newly made friend. With so many challenges and so much suffering caused by factors outside our control, we really have only one thing we can control: who and how often we love.

Let's work collectively over the next 14 days to create hope and combat fear. Are you ready? The world is in need of love these days. So let's get busy showing some.

You can get your daily challenges live on our Facebook page, or check back here each day.

Day 1: Check Up on the Elderly

Challenged by Jeanne Castillo

For us young’uns (AKA, ages 50 and below), we can get so caught up in our lives that we often neglect those who could really use our help or our company. Even if they aren’t our own parents or grandparents, there are sure to be at least one or two elders in our midst who may be struggling with their health, or might even be widowed and lonely.

Especially at this time of year when it’s cold in many parts of the world, life isn’t always easy for those beyond their prime years of health, mobility and strength. Wherever you are, check up on the elderly man or woman in your neighborhood, call up your grandparents, bring some tea and lighthearted conversation to your local senior center, or help an elderly neighbor with their groceries on a whim. If you have kids, take them along for the experience. Be someone’s hero today!

Day 2: Take Your Neighbors on a Date

Challenged by Phil Brown

Two questions: How long have you lived in your current home, and how well do you know your neighbors? We like the idea of reaching out to our neighbors and getting to know them, but rarely do we get around to knowing their names.

Today it’s time to change that and be your neighborhood’s ringleader. Round up a few of your neighbors and—though it might seem like an odd or even anti-social way to express love—go to the movies! If you’re married with children, you can go as a family or a double date. Even one on one, it’s the perfect way to take away the pressure ofsmall talk, and through a film we open our minds to greater levels of empathy.

Movies put us in the shoes of others and offer us a portal into their worldview. It's often easy to get caught up in the routine of our own life and forget the rich tapestry of human experience beyond our doorstep. What is the world like for a down-and-out trying to make it as a boxer? What is it like for an ethnic minority to fight for equal rights? How do we cope with loss or heartbreak? What is it like to see the fruits of one's labor pay off beyond one’s wildest imaginings?

After the credits have rolled, take your neighbors to the nearest café or restaurant (or welcome them into your home) for a quick chat. Now you’ve got something to talk about!

Day 3: Have a (Gasp!) Actual Conversation with a Stranger

Challenged by Cathlene Bell-Dumas

Through his work known asHumans of New York, photographer Brandon Stanton shares photos and stories of people on New York City streets with the world. He has over 16 million followers onFacebook, and for good reason. Somehow, in the span of a few minutes, he manages to dig deep into the soul of a stranger and extract universal statements with which his millions of followers resonate.

His approach essentially has shredded any excuses left in our hearts to not talk to people. In striking up simple, earnest conversations with the people with whom we live side by side, we open up a new portal of discovery, empathy and plain old human kindness. If not mind-blowing, it definitely will be refreshing. What’s your excuse not to?

Today, as you’re walking down the street, riding the train or standing in line at the store, look at the people around you as human beings instead of obstacles, unique souls from whom you can learn and part of a global family to whom you can talk.

Day 4: Go on a Secret Mission

Challenged by Tanya Selle

Dun-dun duuh-daah dun-dun. …

We all like a good Mission Impossible-type heist. The strategizing, gathering of resources and collecting intel on our target. Who’s to say we can’t be secret agents for God on a quest to change the world? To place hope, ever so stealthily, into the hearts of others?

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to walk around your neighborhood or public place today and find someone who’s in need. It can be literally anything—an everyday task like mowing the lawn, watering the garden, walking the dog, carrying groceries; or it might be something like taking a homeless person out to eat, shopping for your next-door neighbor or lending someone a compassionate ear. Sky’s the limit—if you’re out on a mission, why not make it epic?

Day 5: Hug a Refugee

Challenged by Cathlene Bell-Dumas

Want to help therefugee crisis, but feel overwhelmed by the confusion of deciding where to send money? Send supplies instead. One key resource constantly needed on the front lines of aid are emergency blankets for when refugees arrive on Europe’s coastlines completely wet, cold and afraid.

Order some blankets from a European retailer such ashere on Amazon.de, or pick some out from the store with help from your family, and have them shipped to one of the many hardworking nonprofits who distribute aid where it’s needed most. Many nonprofits can provide an address where they’d be thrilled to receive your donation. I chose to send blankets to the good people atAction from Switzerland, who were able to take my blankets to Macedonia. There, those blankets could give refugees all the hugs I’ve ever wanted to give them myself.

Day 6: Take a Book, Leave a Book

Challenged by Laurel Nakai

Take one of your favorite books and leave it in a public place for someone to find. Write a note on it that says, “Free Book! If you find this, that means it was meant for you. Enjoy!” You can even ask them to pass on one of their own books in the same way; it’s a gift that keeps on giving

Day 7: Open Up Shop

Challenged by Cathlene Bell-Dumas

Go pro bono today and offer your fix-up skills free of charge. Are you an amazing seamstress, or do you have a knack for fixing computers? Arepair café encourages sharing economy, fights the compulsion to throw away and buy new things, and gives those with skills a chance to use them for others.

Interact with people you wouldn’t normally meet otherwise. You can go formal and rent a community center with a flyer distribution, or simply start working on the sidewalk. I’ve seen this done with bikes—some college kids would fix bikes once a week with a simple sign saying, “Free Bike Repair Every Wednesday.” Consistency builds community.

Day 8: Not-So-Random Acts of Kindness

Challenged by Tanya Selle

Aren’t random acts of kindness just great? When a stranger makes your day, it’s like a leaf fell from a tree right onto your head as you walked under it—random, but also definitely meant for you!

Intentional words and acts, random or not, are like free doses of appreciation and reassurance from heaven channeled through a guided soul. Are you willing to be that spring of life for someone, even for a moment?

Grab some note cards or sticky notes and write down some encouraging phrases like “You are beautiful” or “Have an amazing day” and place them in public areas (restroom stalls, waiting rooms, or in strategic areas like your friend’s car or your colleague’s desk).

If you want to take it up a notch, give someone a massage (BFF status), pay for the meal of the next person in line, show up to work with an extra coffee in hand for the first person you see ... the list goes on!

Day 9: Give a Hard-Core Compliment

Challenged by Cathlene Bell-Dumas

Have you ever received a compliment that didn’t feel warranted? That’s because most people don’t see their own true value.

Today, choose someone you don’t know too well, but who made a good impression on you. It could be a new coworker, or the barista at Starbucks, or that kid who walks by your house every day on the way to school.

Got your guy/gal? Now, try reaching out to that person and pay them a really, really good compliment. While the best compliments can’t be prefabricated, here’s a template that can help you build the base of words someone might really need to hear:

“I want you to know that I’ve been watching you. Not in a creepy stalker way, just as a friend. And in paying attention to you, I’ve realized that you’re really _________. You might not believe me when I say this, but _____.”

As Marianne Williamson expressed, “As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” Liberate someone today with your words.

Day 10: Give Your Office a Hump-Day Boost

Challenged by Jeanne Castillo

It’s Wednesday, and in the United States we call that “hump day”—the hump you have to get through before the much-anticipated end of the week.

Wherever you work, share some fun or food to help your coworkers make it to Friday all in one piece. Bring in a bag of bagels to start the day, or host a movie night after hours at the office.

Day 11: Borrow Someone’s Children

Challenged by Cathlene Bell-Dumas

You don’t have to do this one today, but set an appointment. Ask a friend who’s a parent, “Hey, is there anything you’ve been putting off because it’s hard do with kids tagging along?” Chances are, they have a whole list, like visiting their eye doctor, getting a haircut, or simply taking some much-needed alone time. Offer to babysit their children for a couple of hours, without asking for anything in return.

Here’s why this is a win-win-win: For the parent, obviously, the free time is like winning the lottery, but of even greater value is the realization that somebody SEES their hard work and honors them as people. For the kids, they get to observe someone setting a great example of what “loving your neighbor” looks like. And for you? You get the gift of seeing the world through a kid’s eyes for an afternoon—something we all stand to benefit from.

Day 12: Give a ‘Just Because’ Gift

Challenged by Cathlene Bell-Dumas

We make a big hullaballoo during Christmas and birthdays to find the perfect gift, but have you ever noticed that these are the moments when we probably need gifts the least? Often a gift can make the biggest impact when it’s least expected, or when it feels least deserved.

Find a gift that feels right, without worrying about the cost (just think of how many times you wished you had some lip balm, a hair tie or a granola bar on hand!), and give the gift to the first person who comes to mind in whatever way feels right to you. Known or anonymous, with or without an explanation, the gift will move the recipient of your love without a doubt.

Day 13: Do I Really Need This?

Challenged by Shinyoung Chang

When was the last time you used that blanket or played with that toy? We all have a lot we can give away to people who might appreciate them a lot. Go through your cupboards, raid your own closets and help a stranger. You can give food and clothing to your local secondhand shop or charity (just Google your city and the words “donation” or “charity”). If you’re feeling social, host a clothing swap or community yard sale.

Don’t hesitate! If you’re busy, share the load and do it with your whole family. It can be a great lesson for kids to learn the value of sharing and giving.

Day 14: Wild-Card Challenge: Just Say YES

Challenged by Cathlene Bell-Dumas

Sometimes we don't need anyone to tell us how to share our love. There are those moments when we know exactly what we could do, but aren't sure we have the courage, time or ability to actually do it.

Let these words serve as the permission you seek, and as the reassurance that YES, you CAN love that bravely.

Congratulations on finishing these 14 days of love! Tell us, how many new friends did you make? What were your favorite moments in these past two weeks? How did you spice up one of these challenges and make it your own?

Now that you’re on a roll, why not keep going? Life’s that much more beautiful when we live as if the world is our family and our love is limitless.

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