Growing up, I was the luckiest kind of kid, because I had two parents who loved me beyond measure.  No matter what crappy things happened in my life, I knew absolutely that my parents adored me, would take care of me and that there was nothing I could do to stop them from loving me down to my toes.  Being loved like that gave me a firm grounding in kindness and respect and helped me turn into the person I am today.

Because of that foundation of love that was built for me from birth, I believe that part of responsibility of being a living and breathing human being on this earth is to work every day to infuse the world with love.  It’s not always easy and often times it doesn’t come naturally (especially living in a big city), but I try to be kind and helpful and respectful to everyone I encounter.  Not everybody thinks or behaves this way, and often times I wonder if I’m one of the few who are approaching life this way.  Just when I starting to sink into that pit, wondering why I keep tossing loving action into an abyss that never seems to fill, I see or hear or read something that helps me remember I’m not alone.

This morning I was glancing through my RSS reader, and I stumbled upon Scott Adams’ (creator of Dilbert) most recent blog entry.  Today is his 50th birthday and he’s asking for a particularly lovely gift from his readers.

Here’s what I want you to do for my birthday. Send someone an e-mail and tell them how much you appreciate them, or love them. Do it right now. Then tell me about it in the comments. That’s what I want. It’s my birthday so you have to do it.

Go.

What are you waiting for?  Give the man a birthday gift and in doing so, brighten the day of someone in your life.