Many times my friends and family who read my blog, tell me that they really like my “Friday Favorites” posts the best. This tells me that people like to stay on the light side of things. It is fun to be in the frivolity of life. Life can be just too damn serious, at times. I like the light side, too. It’s just that lately, I have been in a simplify mode. I haven’t been wrapped up in my usual, lustful consumerism. The older I get, the more I know myself, thus, my favorites stay pretty steady. I know what fits, what tastes good, who my favorite singers and authors are, and I stick with them. It’s hard to find new favorites all of the time. So on that note, I am going to write about an article I read this morning that mentions our collective, favorite, “un-cancellable” celebrities. These are celebrities that have very few, if any, detractors. These celebrities are considered to be greatly loved by the masses. These celebrities are among our favorites of all celebrities. Here are some of the celebrities on the list:
Betty White, Dolly Parton, Mister Rogers, Julie Andrews, Alex Trebek, Tom Hanks, Keanu Reeves, LeVar Burton, Jim Henson, Jack Black, Dev Patel, Chadwick Boseman, Hugh Jackman
I look at this list of celebrities, and I think to myself, “It’s true, I’ve never met any of these people, but I do feel a fondness for all of them.” I have never heard anything hateful about any of them. And I ask myself, “Why are these particular people so well-liked?” Universally, on this list, I see people who appear (or who appeared to be, when they were alive) to be kind, true to themselves, in love with what they do in life, generous, full of purpose, self-deprecating, warm, gracious and grateful.
Considering some of the celebrities who are our collective favorites in life, I imagine we could all add a few more to the list, with smiles and appreciation. Sometimes the noisier, more outrageous, opinionated, brash, attention hound, “trainwrecked” celebrities get more of our attention, but our true favorites in life are not the people whom we “love to hate”, but more so, the people who personify love. They unassumingly love their lives, love their crafts, and they are grateful to have the support of the Universe to carry out their purposes. There is a wholesome goodness about these people that seems to emanate from their true cores – well beyond their images. What makes anyone or anything “a favorite”? Who are your favorite people and why? Remember that the traits that you really like about other people, are traits that you secretly like about yourself, too. A favorite person, place, or thing, is something that makes us feel deeply good, in the truest, non-fleeting sense of the word. A favorite anything, is consistently good, and true, and authentically and unapologetically himself, herself or itself. We love our favorites because they vividly bring out our favorite parts and attributes and inclinations, of our very own selves.
Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.