My friend Helice 'Sparky' Bridges is
outrageous. She is one of those rare
individuals who is truly LIVING OUT LOUD. She
is a 65 year old grandmother who just happens
to be as excitable as a stick of dynamite.
You may have a friend like her. She is the
one who is always laughing the loudest, and
to top it off she snorts when she laughs -
and the more she laughs, you guessed it, the
more she snorts. It makes me smile just to
think of her laugh!
Helice decided that she
wanted to help change the world by telling
people how much they matter. So she created a
blue ribbon that says 'Who I am Makes a
Difference' and she stops to honor people
with the ribbon and tells them something that
she appreciates about them and she asks their
permission to stick a blue ribbon on their
chest.
Everyone says yes, and receives her
gift.
We were at lunch together recently waiting
for our order. Helice saw a man walking with
his lunch tray with a big order of French
fries on it. She went up to him and asked if
she could have one of his fries. He looked
surprised, but smiled and said yes. She took
one of the fries and came back and sat down
and enjoyed it.
As we were leaving the
restaurant, she asked me to wait so she could
go and 'honor' the man who shared his fries.
I didn't hear what she said, but I'm sure
that it was said with kindness and love and
that he walked away standing just a little
bit taller with a smile on his face.
These blue ribbons have taken on a life of
their own. To date, more than 30 million blue
ribbons have been distributed and they've
been translated into 12 languages! They are
used in company board rooms and school
classrooms. They seem to contain a certain
magic, they instantly will light someone up
from the inside.
The ribbons start a conversation of
acknowledgment. They let someone know that
you care about them. They make us stop and
take a moment, take a breath, look someone in
the eyes and tell them something that we
appreciate about them.
The ribbons
are a simple and honest act of generosity,
love and caring.
I'd like to share the gift of the blue ribbon
with each of you. If you send me an email
with your address, in the United States,
I'll send you 3 blue ribbons. One is for you
and two are to pass on to others. If you'd
like more blue ribbons, you can visit
Helice's website Difference Makers International and
learn more.
But let me first tell you what I appreciate
about you.
I appreciate you because you are a
life-long learner and are dedicated to
improving your own communications. I know
that you care about others and want to be
able to communicate that to them so they
understand how important they are to you.
I admire your courage and your honesty and
that you want to be a positive role model to
others. You are important to me. Thank you
for the opportunity to stay in touch with you.
Please remember that Who You Are Makes a
Difference!
You might like to know that Helice also
teaches a 25 hr. Standing Strong Together
leadership program to monks, business
leaders, educators and teens throughout the
world so that they can teach others how to
live, love, laugh and make a difference.
To order "Who I Am Makes A Difference" Blue
Ribbons go to www.blueribbons.org.
