Inspiring a Decade More
Love Notes From The Universe
The Joy Of Love Notes From The Universe
The Universe. The Earth spins on its axis in the solar system among the stars and planets and galaxies. It is all there all the time, spinning, rotating, sitting, shining. But we can’t see all the beauty and majesty all the time–only at night. And only if we go outside into nature and look up.
Looking Up
At night when darkness falls, you can look up and see the night sky–the moon, stars, and planets.
This can make us feel very small and insignificant in this massive universe. We are part of the universe, but we are more than a piece of science or a collection of cells.
We need love, support, and validation.
We are human with a body and a mind and a soul. We have a need to feel connected to the Universe and be reminded of our value and worth.
A Small Note, A Big Impact
Some of us are blessed to feel this love from family, friends, spouses, but we all can use a word of kindness, reassurance, or encouragement. You can never have too much of these!
So a special lady named Shelley Hannah who lives in Canada found a way to connect the love that is out there in the universe to individual human beings. She makes tiny notes of appreciation and encouragement, rolls them up and ties them with a bit kind of shiny pipe cleaner, and gives them out to strangers.
How It Started
Shelley calls them Love Notes From The Universe.
She started making the love notes back around 2013 for her family and friends. Later when Shelley had a job driving a shuttle bus, she began passing love notes out to her passengers.
She began to notice something really special: the notes always seemed to “land in just the right hands!”
Shelley calls this magic and says that the appreciations land in just the right hands almost every time. Coincidence? I don’t think so. It’s the Universe making sure that a person gets just the note they need.
Sharing The Notes
You can dig into the bag or bowl and choose one that comes to you, choose your favorite color from the rainbow of love, or close your eyes and let your hand guide you.
Since then Shelley has been selling and giving love notes in all kinds of places and distributing love notes to all kinds of people.
Since her first sale to a friend who wanted to share them at a Rotary Club dinner, the Love Notes have been shared at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women conference, at the Parliament of World Religions in Toronto in 2018, to first responders during the pandemic, through Compassionate Atlanta, and more.
Love Notes Around The World
The notes have not only made their way to many parts of North America, but also the Philippines, South Korea, Japan, Costa Rica, Germany, Italy, and even Botswana!
As demand grew, Shelley needed help making so many tiny rolled notes. True to her nature, Shelley found a way to get the help she needed and help others at the same time. Over the years, Shelley has partnered with several organizations that serve adults with special needs.
These adults get to work on job skills and even earn some money while Shelley gets help filling orders for Love Notes. According to Shelley, “Love Note rolling has always been a collaborative effort, aimed at developing a variety of work skills.”
Connected Through Compassion
How did Leanne Rubenstein and Compassionate Atlanta get connected to Shelley and the Love Notes?
As the Universe would have it, Shelley and Leanne met in 2018 at the Parliament of World Religions in Toronto. Just like the TV show “Love at First Sight,” I think Leanne loved the Love Notes as soon as she saw them.
Shelley remembers that after that conference, she received an email saying Leanne knew pretty much immediately that she’d be needing more. That was the beginning of a deluge of Love Notes headed to Atlanta.
30K More Love Notes
Not quite eight years later, Atlanta has received 30K more Love Notes! Now that is a lot of love getting shared.
Shelley has distributed so many Love Notes to so many people in so many places that she does not even know how many notes have gone out into the Universe.
But what she does know is that the Love Notes have had a positive impact on the recipients wherever they have gone. Some laugh in unexpected surprise, others tear up and tuck the note in their wallet, and others report that they still have the very first Love Note they received taped to their bathroom mirror.
Love In Action
Not surprisingly, when we choose to give of ourselves to benefit others, the blessing comes back to us as well. This is true for Shelley, who says, “You know that feeling when you're engaged in life in a way that you know is in complete alignment with who you are, who you came to be? That’s how the Love Notes impact me.”
Love is everywhere around us. And the need for love is entrenched in every human being on the face of the earth. But if it stays locked inside a person, it isn’t doing any good.
Enter The Love Note Universe
The Love Notes are a beautiful way to bring that love out and share it with others. We don’t know how long we are going to be on this beautiful planet of ours, but today we each have the opportunity to show compassion.
Give a flower, a song, a hug, a kind word, or a Love Note from the Universe–all are like gold.
Look for the Compassionate Atlanta table at events–we will be happy to make sure you get your own Love Note. If you are interested in learning more about Shelley and the Love Notes or purchasing a bag of Love Notes from her, CLICK HERE
Come with Compassionate Atlanta and enter the Love Note universe!
