I’m one of those people who believes that every time I inhale, something good happens. Oxygen is metabolized in my lungs sending quality blood to my heart and brain. Coleridge wrote, ‘Nothing is insignificant.’ I may not think about every breath, but I do try to take into account that every moment is an opportunity to do something good. No moment, or act, is insignificant.
Back in 2009, I had an idea – what if I said, “I Love You” in my social media streams? Would anyone notice? Might someone who is lonely, feel less so? Could three little words randomly flung into the universe actually mean anything?
Yes.
By the end of the day on April 4, 2009, tens of thousands of people posted ‘I Love You’ in their social media streams; the post received 80,000+ unique views; the movement made it to CNN and USA Today; and ‘#ILoveYou‘ even became a global trending topic on Twitter.
This year on April 4, I’ll post ‘I Love You’ into my streams again. And the reason is the same as that first year–to turn fear into love. You see, on April 4, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. As a result, this day has been made famous by a senseless act of fear. For some reason I doubt Dr. King would want April 4th to be remembered that way. Rather, I’m betting that he would want to turn the tables on fear. And the only way to do that is to replace fear with love. Thanks to the internet, we can.
As the digital age speeds news and information around the globe at rates we can’t even wrap our minds around, it often seems as though the negative stories get the lion’s share of attention. War. Deceit. Politics. Disasters. The media shoves these themes down our throats because we can’t keep our eyes off of them, and eyeballs equal revenue. However, in the age of accelerated connectivity, it’s pretty cool that we have the opportunity to give positive ideas a fighting chance. At least for one day. At least for one moment.
Nothing is insignificant.
Mostly, I’m doing this again because I believe in the power of words to move people. If I didn’t, I’d probably get into banking or retail instead of wasting my time as a writer. And even though a word like Love is too big to put a lasso around, from what I can tell, no matter where you live, no matter what your gender, ethnicity, sexual preference, or religion–Love has a universally positive connotation.
The thinking behind I Love You day is that if someone (anywhere) happens to see a tweet containing ‘I Love You,’ then there is a chance that this person will feel something good, if only for a moment, and that this positive momentum might parlay into more good. An avalanche contains stones of all sizes.
April 4. Three words. Ten characters. The chance to push something good into the world. For a change. #ILoveYou
Please read the original post from 2009, and pay particular attention to the comments.
***
Jim Mitchem is no angel. Please don’t misinterpret this effort as anything like an attempt to become one. I’m just a guy who believes in the power of words.
Trey Pennington
Apr 4, 2011
I love you, too.Just tweeted based upon your blog. Now about to tweet the blog. Very intrigued to see what happens.So glad you’re not working on being a social media superstar. I heard one domain registrar petitioned ICANN for a new TLD for social media superstars. Apparently ICANN ran the numbers and concluded there wouldn’t be enough IP addresses available if every social media superstar got his/her own domain.
Peter Shankman
Apr 4, 2012
Miss you, Trey.
Ann Marie van den Hurk
Apr 4, 2012
Me, too, Peter. Chilling that I’ve “ran into” Trey this week.
Janet Vanderhoof
Apr 4, 2011
Words are things ~Maya AngelouShe believes words can get into the walls, into the rugs, they have energy. They become things. Thank you for the blog. Words can also get into your heart. I love you too.
Vincent Ammirato
Apr 4, 2011
I taught public school for over 6 years. On the first day of class, while going through the necessary stuff (syllabus, grading policy, etc..), I would through in this:And lastly, I love you. During the time we spend together, I’m going to try to love you as much as any parent. I want to help you grow, learn, and do good things and, if that isn’t love, someone tell me what is.The first few days I would be openly mocked by the students. Notes with a dorky “Mr. A” caricature labeled “pathetic” would be left in the room after the bell. The gang members were particularly caustic.Some students responded immediately…others stayed guarded until the last few weeks. By the end, they knew I loved them. *Every* child would give me a hug …even the thuggiest gang members knew that I wanted to see them succeed.But the words themselves didn’t do shit. I had to back it up with some serious, dedicated effort.
Christa Hanson
Apr 4, 2011
Thanks again, Jim. I love you.
fitbet
Apr 4, 2011
I remember your first I love you and it might be why I started following you on twitter, then on FB….I’m re-tweeting today as well…I always end my classes asking my students to say I love you to everybody they meet…it may feel awkward but after a while it becomes addictive… especially when you see a strangers eyes light up.Never ever too much love…. just not enough…
fitbet
Apr 4, 2011
Oh and…I love you Jim …. and all of you….
Molly Block
Apr 4, 2011
I love this post — and the idea. I love you.
GVLguy
Apr 4, 2011
Awesome!
Marilyn Carpenter
Apr 4, 2011
I refer to Jim Mitchem as my new tweet love – now I know how that came to me. Thanks for sharing, again – please re-do every year because of those who haven’t found you yet. It made my day significant.I Love You@LoveFearPaychek
CFILLC
Apr 5, 2011
I more than like this post. I love this post. ;-)Love changes for me every year — and it has changed more dramatically and indescribably over the past half-dozen years than all of the years of my life combined. I am in awe of it, and so glad to know people such as you, Jim, who want to share a bit of it with the rest of the world world.Love is worth writing. And posting. And sharing. And tweeting. And retweeting. And by golly, is it ever worth the wait.
Cherry Woodburn
Apr 5, 2011
There are no accidents. Last week I attended a workshop Healing the Mind, Re-wiring the Brain. At one pt. the presenter asked for a volunteer to work thru a process that helps clear traumatic events. As a workshop presenter myself I’m consistently willing to be the volunteer if no one else wants to be. So I volunteered and was trying to think of what I’d talk about as I’ve already done a lot of work on my “stuff.” Then much to my surprise, the presenter asked a question and these words, of their own volition it seemed, came out of my mouth: “I don’t think I’m lovable.” So it’s nice coming here and being told “I love you.” Whether you’re an angel or not, whether you’re doing this for stardom or not, I love you. Cherry
Molly Block
Apr 4, 2012
Love. Love. Love.
Rebecca McCormick
Apr 5, 2012
You’re writing a book, one essay at a time, and I love you for it. No, I love you. Period.
Fabulous work. Again.
Cress Barnes
Apr 4, 2013
When I shared this I wrote the number 29. When I was a wee girl my Mom would ask “How much do you love me?” I would reply “29”. Since that time my family uses that number to express love. It’s on my mom’s headstone, tattooed on my arm, and of course was my roller derby number. So, 29
Ian Gordon
Apr 4, 2013
I haven’t been online a lot this week. Just one of those weeks dominated by things that will seem quite trivial looking back. A lot of what you call feeding the machine. We just finished family yoga, and I happen upon this via Twitter. I just wanted to say thanks Jim.
Nichole
Apr 4, 2014
Five years later and we’re still at it. Love is a wonderful thing.
Molly Block
Apr 4, 2014
I love you.
Elaine Spitz
Apr 4, 2021
This is awesome! I love you, Jim!
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