Have you ever wondered what it would be like if people interacted with one another from a place of love and delight — instead of a place of fear or need or hate or greed?

I just got home from a walk through town on an beautifully warm summer night. I had just finished a call with a group of friends in which I acknowledged the ways in which I distract myself from my goals and overschedule my time so that instead of being with and settling into and moving forward with things that really matter to me, I fill my days with frenzied activity and the stress that results from that.

As I hung up the phone, I decided to take myself for a walk. I left my phone at home, and took off my shoes and strolled barefoot toward downtown Palo Alto to just drink in the moment. I allowed myself to take deep breaths and feel my feet connect with the pavement as I watched the last glimpses of sunlight fall on the leaves of the trees that lined the streets.

As I approached the bustle and business of downtown and saw people walking along and having dinner in open air restaurants, it occurred to me that every man I encountered is a hero and every woman I passed a goddess. And without saying a thing, I inwardly honored them as my eyes landed on them or as I passed them. “You are a hero. You are an amazing man who is here to protect what is most precious in life. You are strong and wonderful and fabulous to behold.” “You are a goddess. The spirit of life itself flows through you. You bring softness and love and beauty and sensitivity and compassion to the world.”

I’m not sure how most people I passed experienced me. I do know that the soft smile on my face came from a place deep within me, a place connected to my heart, a place that knows that we are all connected and that I am you and you are me.

In the end, it doesn’t matter what everyone thought, or even if they noticed me at all. That, after all, is really none of my business. The piece that is absolutely undeniably my business is the way in which I chose to show up, the experience I created for myself. And tonight, at least, I created an evening of peace and playfulness and love and delight.

May all beings everywhere find the place within themselves that is able to embrace and accept and love and delight in everyone whose path crosses theirs — even if only for tonight.