Came across this Upworthy article today. There is a bunch of positive heart-warming stories in there. As I was reflecting on what I had read, two thoughts came to my mind.

One, even when things are bad in our personal life, when we feel like we have hit rock bottom, stories like these show us that there is still good in this world. The self-obsessed self-pitying part of us might ask why that should matter. It matters because it gives us hope – that key ingredient in life which keeps us going.

Two, it was a reminder of true unconditional love and what effect such moments can have on people. Too often, when we have disagreements with loved ones, we concentrate all our time and energy in trying to resolve our differences and feeling hurt when they don’t understand our point of view. But there is something that we can do in those times – simple gestures, completely unrelated to the issue at hand – to remind, that despite our differences, we always love them. By doing this, we aren’t conceding our position. We are simply expressing our unconditional love without any expectations. It is a win-win situation. They feel joyous embraced in it and we feel happy to have made their day better. It doesn’t fix the difference of opinion. Rather, it strengthens the relationship despite it.

Two worthwhile lessons to remember.