Have you ever heard the phrase, “Love can melt all blockages?” Most sayings like this come to become widely known because they’re based in truth. Research has found scientific evidence that love can spread in various ways. You’ve surely experienced or witnessed instances in which someone has paid it forward or a movement has spread based on one person’s love and kindness. In today’s post, I’d like to explore this concept further and show you just how far-reaching the concept of helping others can be.
Everyone benefits from random acts of love. The giver feels happy and grateful for being able to brighten someone else’s day. The recipient enjoys the surprise of receiving unconditional love. We all appreciate when someone is nice to us. These good feelings tend to create a momentum because those involved want to continue to experience love. The giver’s heart is opened and filled with love and joy, for helping someone and will often be motivated to keep giving in various ways. The recipient wants to share the experience and love that they’ve just received. They become aware of the pleasure to “pay it forward” and watch how other souls’ hearts open up and shine.
Even if you’re not directly part of an act of love, you can benefit. A phenomenon known as “moral elevation” exists that ensures good deeds will spread. It works by creating positive feelings when certain events are triggered within the peripheral and central nervous systems. These neuro- physical connections are made when someone witnesses or hears about an act of love or feel-good story. The euphoric feeling you then get motivates you to want to do something good, as well, continuing the pay-it-forward cycle.
Social learning theory is the study of the ways in which groups interact. Its core principles are based on the fact that people will behave in similar ways to which they see those in their peer group or how their families behave. It’s sort of the “monkey see, monkey do” or “birds of a feather” philosophy. Therefore, when children grow up in a family in which love, kindness and compassion are the norm, they are more likely to display those traits also. Just as when teachers demonstrate and emphasize to their students a core philosophy of doing good, this standard will be the precedent among the class. Love is essentially contagious when groups continually perform such behavior.
You can make a difference in your small corner of the world by simply performing random acts of Unconditional Love. Science and centuries of anecdotal evidence backs this up. Be the change you wish to see and encourage the people around you to do good deeds. You’ll begin to see an impact.