What I have learned from Leo Buscaglia

I can admit that during my school-age, I loved reading books. It was a daily routine for me. Well, most of the times, I found myself of being strict on the things that I like to do. It used to be reasonable for me to have a tight schedule and follow it every day. However, this changed over the years since, now, I have more responsibilities and more new things come up every day. This is how I gave it up from this hobby. If you asked me, some months ago, why I do not read books, I would say that I do not have free time to do so. However, I can, now, admit that this was just an excuse. If we truly love something, we would find free time for it. And my view of books changed again when a friend brought me a book as a name day gift. This was one of the best gifts I have ever received, and it is called “Living Loving and Learning” by Leo Buscaglia.

What I have learned from Leo Buscaglia is that we, as human beings, shall enjoying our life by living every moment to the fullest. We shall live every moment as a unique one and considering it as special. We deserve to live every moment with our loved ones. We should be surrounded by people that make us feel happy. Most of the times, the special moments may be some unexpected events, or just some common or even uncommon events that may happen to us. I was surprised from the fact that Leo Buscaglia, while he was talking about his childhood, he was always mentioning the love that he received from his family every day, as well as the upbringing that he received from his parents. Leo Buscaglia teaches the importance of not relying on material goods and money. He points out that money, do not bring happiness, rather the love of your family. This is completely true. We do not need to spend a lot of money to create special moments with our friends. Just compare a night at the nightclub where you shall pay a lot of money on drinking and dancing in contrast with a lovely night by the beach where you and your friends shall bring your drinks and music. I did it a lot of times, and I can assure you that it was one of the best nights of my life 😊

“Love is Life, and if you miss love, you miss life.”

Moreover, what I have learned from Leo Buscaglia is that we need to start talking to our family members, friends, partners. To express and show our feelings and not afraid of their negative response. However, instead of thinking about such an adverse reaction that we may receive, let’s think about the possibility of this positive response. And this is how we will supply our mind with positivity and achieve our dreams. Let’s start loving each other. Let’s hug our friends when we meet them and show how important they are in our life. Why not texting a friend to ask ‘Hey, how are you? Is everything all right?’. A simple question may mean a lot to somebody else since you will show that you care about him.

“No one gets out of this world alive so the time to live, learn, care, share, celebrate and love is now”

What I have learned from Leo Buscaglia is the importance of giving without requesting anything in return. This is something that characterises me precisely as a person, but the way that Leo Buscaglia is expressing this into his book is surprisingly unique. Mentioning this point, I shall describe what happened to me some months ago. While I was driving, I saw an old lady trying to cross the road with her shopping bags. To be honest, I did not stop to help her with the excuse that ‘there was traffic and I could not drive back and help her’. Yes, this was my ‘excuse’. Some days after this event happened, when I went to the supermarket, I saw her again, with her shopping bags trying to cross the road and go home on foot. Then, there was no excuse, I asked her if she needs me to drive her home, and without having second thoughts, she said yes. So, I drove her home, which was two minutes’ drive from the supermarket. I just dedicated two minutes from my time to help this old lady who, I guess, would need ten minutes to walk towards her house. I devoted two minutes of my time, and the pleasure that I received from this action was much more than the joy that she received from me. And this made my day:).  

“To love is to risk, not being loved in return. To hope is to risk pain. To try is to risk failure, but risks must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.”

Although this book was published in 1988, it is a timeless book that helped me to change my way of thinking. I recommend it just in case you truly desire to change your way of living and adopt a peaceful and mindful attitude. Leo Buscaglia has a unique skill, which was developed through his life experiences through travelling, meeting people from different sociological backgrounds, to show you how to respect, this gift that was given to you, your life.  

Itsme_mariaxx