February 2021 is here at last, and romantic love is in the air! Spring is on the way, Valentine’s is two weeks away, and the Super Bowl is just a week away! Even with all of the things COVID19 has done to try and ruin our rites of passage, America is still working, still protecting each other, still thriving.
For many people, the past few months have been a dark and scary time. Springfield’s population has an optimism that carries them through the worst parts of history, and it’s time that we call on that. It’s essential to show love right now and deal with anger.
Let’s look at five ways we can show love to one another in February and the benefits:
- Looking out for each other. All it takes is a small gesture of care to give a person the sense that they are not alone in this world. Acknowledge the people you see, make space for each other, offer to hold a door open. Just a small campaign of this kind of love can ripple out in our community and come back to you.
- Listening to each other. We often don’t feel heard when we speak. Sometimes it’s enough to let people have their say and try to empathize with their position truly and to understand the stress they have in their lives.
- Spending time together. One of the most extraordinary things we can do for each other is to be present. When you have spare time, please give it to someone whom you know truly needs it. Just a little bit of extra thoughtfulness and presence can make a difference in the lives of others.
- Talking through conflicts openly. There’s a great Medgar Evers quote: “When you hate, the only person that suffers is you because most of the people you hate don’t know it, and the others don’t care.” There’s no need to be angry if you can learn to tell someone willing to listen, “You hurt me when you did or said that.” Embrace aggression or anger in others with love. Remember that the correct response to “I’m angry about what you did” is usually “I’m sorry I hurt you” if you follow through and find out how you hurt someone and work to resolve it amicably.
- Keeping our time together sacred. The relationships you have with other people in this short life are all sacred. If you have a toxic relationship with a coworker, things said and done in the past will always revisit you, and that relationship is cursed. Break the curse with understanding and a campaign of reaching out.
While all of these are things we should be doing for each other to make the world a better place, they are also things we can do for our cars. With inspections, we can look out for our vehicles and keep them in better running condition. We can listen to our cars and learn about the difficulties they may be facing and repairs they may need. We can spend time together and forgive our cars for letting us down in breakdown moments (and, by extension, forgive ourselves for the neglect that leads to these moments). And by speaking gently and calmly in our cars, we can make these places sacred and kind so that each time we get in our vehicle to drive, we feel we are stepping out of our troubles and into our safest, most considerate space.
We hope you and yours have a wonderful Valentine’s Day and manage to put a little love out into the world this year. Here’s a reminder that Our Lifetime Protect Plan helps get your car to 300,000 miles and beyond. Let’s get your vehicle to 300,000 miles or more with proper maintenance. To hear more about the plan, click on this embedded link, or call Complete Automotive for more details. You can find Complete Automotive at 2238 E. Chestnut Expy, Springfield, MO, 65802; our hours are Monday through Friday, 7:30 AM - 5:30 PM Timely Professional Affordable Auto Service? We Can Help With That!