Love 101

When I was eleven, my mother, brother and I used to gather around the TV on Sunday evenings(we were living in Sacramento at the time), and watch the Leo Buscaglia lecture series on PBS. I remember it so clearly! His lectures were based on his sociology course, LOVE 101, that he taught at USC for years. He was often known as "Dr. Hugs," because he was completely unabashed about expressing love to everyone, and he encouraged others to do the same. He was a wonderful speaker, writer, and thinker, and I think having him as a professor would have been life-changing. He died of a heart attack in 1998, and I love it that his quotes are still circulating around the internet, 10 years later. I hope they'll continue around the circle forever. Here's a recent quote of his I came across.

"The majority of us lead quiet, unheralded lives as we pass through this world. There will most likely be no ticker-tape parades for us, no monuments created in our honor. But that does not lessen our possible impact, for there are scores of people waiting for someone just like us to come along; people who will appreciate our compassion, our unique talents. Someone who will live a happier life merely because we took the time to share what we had to give. Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have a potential to turn a life around. It's overwhelming to consider the continuous opportunities there are to make our love felt." Leo Buscaglia