Reality, Reflection and Gratitude

Mike Torres, owner of PrintingPlus...a stranger who became a friend 365 days ago. Spread

A VLOG I did mid-way through writing this blog...too many thoughts, not enough time to write, edit and get it all down. Trying to figure out best way to share thoughts....

For many months now, I have had friends and strangers tell me they are seeing the Spread Love signs "everywhere" in Seattle and different parts of the country and how proud I should be of this work. I often feel bad that I do not meet their thoughtful words with proper thanks as I almost immediately reply back a quick thank you I know they are not everywhere because I have sold 6.000+ and there are hundreds of thousands of people just in Seattle so I know they are not everywhere and I have A LOT more work to do. Towards the end of the year I realized I needed to soak in their words a bit more and be happy people are seeing them as they drive around their city. It is a hard balance to find satisfaction while feeling a sense of desperation that I believe it can spread much further & I must figure out how to continue to grow the visibility and messaging of what this campaign is doing.

Today as I had a phone conversation with a woman, Susan C. who placed an order last night and was hoping to pick it up when she was in Seattle tomorrow she confirmed exactly what I have been saying. She shared that she lived in Kenmore (a neighborhood in north Seattle) and she had never seen the sign. She was in Green Lake (another Seattle neighborhood) and could not find parking. She parked on a side street and saw the sign. She said it was so uplifting to see that she took a picture and went online to find how she could get one. She was then be grateful she could not find parking and could not wait to put the sign on her busy street corner home. Instead of being bummed out she had never seen it in her neighborhood, her words actually excited me beyond belief because the sign was going to reach another little pocket it has not seen and her words of gratitude reaffirmed my belief that this campaign must continue to push forward, not assuming it is "everywhere" but instead realizing there are an infinite number of places the message still must reach. And even in the neighborhoods where there are more signs, I want to see the sign pop up more and more.

Thanks to Facebook's "See Your Memories" feature, images are popping into my timeline allowing me to reflect on great & difficult moments. I am guessing many of the posts I will be writing in the coming months will be filled with moments of reflection from a year ago. I think they will provide fuel for me to continue marching on, chasing the visions I see in my head for this movement and our country.

Today, on my way to visit my lawn sign printer, Mike Torres, owner of PrintingPlus, ironically, the FB memory that popped up today was from our 1st meeting. Looking back on that day, my excitement to get the first signs and how I rolled into his business with so much energy...I am pretty sure I referred to myself as the crazy woman as I was leaving. He accepted me as I was and ultimately became my biggest support and cheerleader throughout the year. He is the primary reason Spread Love 2017 was able to get out into the world. Beyond grateful for meeting him 365 days ago and for his friendship and support throughout the year!

OPEN HOUSE THIS SATURDAY IF YOU WANT TO STOP BY AND PICK UP SOME SPREAD LOVE ITEMS FOR THE MARCH...INFO HERE