Bringing more love into the world sometimes feels like an impossible task, but it’s simpler than we make it. That doesn’t mean it’s easy; just simple. Because love isn’t some complex calculation that has to be expressed in the right way at the right time when all the elements line up in a row. Love is just an action you make. It’s something you can do at any time and in any circumstances. You can bring love to the world around you, the people around, and even yourself, in truly any moment. If you want to make the world better, you don’t need to fix everything. But at KIM+ONO, we believe when you practice loving well in small, repeatable, and sometimes ritualistic ways, you can infuse more love into your world. And that’s indeed something worth striving for. So in today’s journal, here are six ways to make your world more loving today.
Photo by @mariacalderon.art
1. Go Into Nature and Feel the Power of the Earth
The earth is the original teacher of steady, powerful, unconditional love. When you step outside and feel your bare feet in the grass, your hands on a tree trunk, or sunlight on your face, you are being reminded, as Mary Oliver once wrote, of “your place in the family of things.” You belong here and nature doesn’t need for you to do anything in particular to be a part of it. When you walk into nature with a little bit of extra intention, perhaps wrapped up in the soft, luxurious drape of your kimono outfits, you can feel more aligned with the movement of air around you as your kimono wraps sway this way. That tiny bit of intentionality (taking a walk in one of your favorite silky robes) can transform the feeling of being along to the feeling of being part of something grand and expansive — nature.
Photo by @mariacalderon.art
2. Enjoy Someone’s Laugh
There are few things more healing than hearing someone else’s unfiltered laugh. When someone exuberantly bursts out unexpectedly in laughter, there’s almost no better feeling. Laughter bridges the distances between us, and it’s usually pretty contagious. When someone you love laughs, pause and enjoy it. Don’t rush past it. Don’t check your phone. Let yourself experience it fully. You might be sitting at the kitchen table in a silky robe, listening to your partner tell a ridiculous story, or watching your child dissolve into giggles over something wildly illogical. The ability to laugh in the middle of chaos or stress tends to diffuse said chaos or stress. There are so many ways laughter works to help us come back to earth — sometimes it literally deepens our breath. So when you hear someone else laugh, enjoy it, that’s a lot of love and connection filling up the space.
Photo by Augie Chang
3. Give (or Receive) an Unexpected Hug
We’ve all been on the receiving end of an unexpected hug that changed the trajectory of our day. So much of modern life trains us to brace, anticipate, and defend. But a hug can make us feel safe and at home, wrapped in love. When you move through your home in luxurious kimono outfits or drape yourself in kimono wraps that feel like a gentle hug, you’re practicing that sensation with yourself too. Fabric can’t replace human contact, but it can remind you that your body deserves to feel relaxed and safe. Wearing something like our plus size kimonos and dusters can be a personal affirmation: I’m loved in every moment. Wearing your own plus size kimonos and dusters or gifting them to someone else is a way to ritualize the at-home feeling of a warm embrace.
Photo by Ashley Streff
4. Start a Conversation with a Stranger
In most public interactions, we are conditioned to move past each other, with our eyes down, our headphones in, and our agendas locked down. But adding more love to the world also means adding more curiosity to the world. Love is endlessly curious. You can start small! Comment on the book someone is reading at your coffee shop. Compliment someone’s scarf. Ask your bus driver how their day is going, and actually listen for the answer. You can do this anywhere—at the grocery store, in line for coffee, at your child’s school pickup. Sometimes it just means getting into the right mindset first. Perhaps you’re dressed in one of your favorite flowing kimono outfits that make you feel simultaneously grounded and open to life. There are plenty of ways to connect with strangers that feel community-building and rich. Love doesn’t always have to be a grand statement; sometimes, it’s just an acknowledgement.
Photo by Maria Del Rio
5. Repeat Loving Affirmations to Yourself
While we can always offer more love to the world no matter how we feel about ourselves, sometimes the easiest way to get into the action of loving others is to be in the action of loving ourselves. Affirmations can be super useful for this. They are a way to practice your mindset like you practice anything else. Repetition becomes a habit, and when your habit is to speak with kindness to yourself, it becomes much easier to speak kindness to those around you in the world. Here are some affirmations our KIM+ONO team love:
I am allowed to take up space.
My softness is strength.
I bring something meaningful to this world.
I am strong, beautiful, a work of art.
Try saying these affirmations while you meditate, wrapped in your kimono wrap in the morning light. Or say them whenever you slip into the luxury of your silky robe and prepare for the day. When you meet yourself with love, it’s usually a lot easier to meet your community with it, too.
Love can be practiced in so many ways, and it makes the world better no matter how you do it. You can simply embrace the beauty of nature, give someone you love an unexpected hug, speak with extra kindness, talk to a stranger, or give a little extra affirming love to yourself. It’s an action and a practice, so you don’t always have to get it right. But when you make a few small acts like this, it can make a big impact on the world around you.
