I was reading a book of short stories one day and I came across Dr. Jerry De Shazo’s story about The Gift of Love. I loved the story so much that I decided to go to his website and learn all I could about the Gift of Love. I started practicing the breathing process and was surprised to feel an unbelievable feeling of peace and bliss come over my body. When I practice the Gift of Love, I think about my niece when she was a baby. I think about how I would look into her eyes and she would look back at me with that unconditional, pure love. The feeling is wonderful!
One day shortly after discovering the gift of love, I was on my way to Phoenix, to take part in the Campaign to end homelessness. We were to create our own cardboard sign and stand on a corner in downtown Phoenix. We were to talk to people and tell them that there is a new face of homeless people. The message was to help them because so many homeless people today are not the typical drug users many people think they are. Many people are faced with losing their jobs and choosing to pay their medical bills rather than pay their rent and as a result have lost their homes.
My cell phone is ringing. It is my husband Charles. He says “What are you doing now?” I said “I’m going down to 4th Avenue and Washington to stand on the corner with my cardboard sign, to bring about awareness of the new face of the homeless.” He said “I don’t like it. I don’t like it one bit!” He said, “I’m not going to tell you not to go because I know that won’t stop you anyway, but I am afraid that something is going to happen to you down there. You are not going to the shelter, you are going to downtown Phoenix and it is not safe there. Please just call me when you get back in your car. And don’t stay there past dark, okay?” I said “okay, I will call you as soon as I am done.” I closed my cell phone and began to think about what he said. Fear came over me and I started to wonder if what I was doing really was safe.
I parked my car a half a block away from my corner. As I walked to the corner, I covered up my cardboard sign as though I was embarrassed of what I was about to do. When I got to my corner, I put my purse down at my feet and I leaned against a light pole. I thought there would be several others standing there with me, but I was all alone. As I held up my cardboard sign which said “Thank you for smiling at me!” I noticed that no one would look at me. I felt dirty and ashamed and afraid. Bus after bus went by me and not one bus driver would look at me, much less smile at me. I started to look behind me wondering if someone was going to come up behind me and steal my purse. A couple walked past me and they were giggling. I knew that they were laughing at me.
Suddenly, I remembered the Gift of Love and I started the breathing process immediately. Within ten minutes, I felt overwhelmed with love and peace, and I truly felt like I was a gift of love to everyone that drove by. People began to look at me and read my sign, and they would smile and wave at me. I even had two homeless men come up and start talking to me and telling me their story of how they became homeless. I was in my element! Right before my eyes, my whole world shifted. Fear had been replaced by love, pure, universal love. I knew I was safe, and that no harm would come to me. I felt unbelievably powerful and loved, and was able to fulfill my mission. In the words of Dr. Jerry DeShazo… “This shit works!”
