It doesn’t have to be complicated, yet so often we try to make it that way. Companies pay millions each year for uber-smart consultants to create fancy analytical charts and write-ups, people engage counselors and coaches to dissect feelings and help understand relationships, and we try to string together big words in long sentences to have the appearance of intelligence to convey a point or impress people we don’t really like (well...some we do).
While all of those things have a place, actually bring real value, and are necessary at times, the foundation of a joyful life is found in a simple verse in the middle of a letter the apostle John wrote to the church about 2,000 years ago.
"This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another."
The message has been the same for a long time and yet it's still so easy to forget, which is why we need the reminder. He goes on to say that it is our actions that demonstrate our love, not our words.
As my friend and personal chaplain, Jerry Leachman, teaches, you can fake caring, but you can't fake showing up. Showing up is love in action, it is presence, an experience. Talking about it is just words, a promise, or the appearance of love. Experience beats appearance every time.
Want your business to grow? Show up for your customers and love them by being an expert and listening to them with a deep conviction to leave them better for the encounter.
Want your relationships, family, and teams to grow? Show up with an intent to serve not to receive. Putting their lives and needs in front of your own is love.
Who do you need to show up for today? Remember experience is far better than appearance. You can fake caring, but you can't fake showing up.