- Rock the Cradle. It starts with a desire to be open. An open channel between two people that allows walls to come down and a connection to grow really deep. Sometimes you know what someone is going through and you can be there for them in that moment, but sometimes you don't. But telling someone you love them and telling someone something good, that's my favorite word, good. It allows good into their life. And I'm sure you understand that in a moment where there seems like there's not a lot of good, some good goes a long way. Good is what connects us all. It's actually the reason I know I'm spiritual. For some it can be spiritual, could be divine, or could be God. The reason that good connects us all is that we all know what good is, but I think we all would struggle to define it. No matter the language we speak, no matter where we're from, where we're located, we all know what good is. And that energy, that connection, that that unites all of us is proof to me that a word cannot describe this feeling and so that feeling must be something more. We all know what good is. And I hope that all of our lives are full of it. Rocking the Cradle is a simple practice that I was taught when I was younger. It started at nighttime before bed. Every night we would go around the cabin and we would pick a person and everyone would say something nice about that person. It started as something I was grateful for that they did for me that day. The next day it was something amazing I saw them do for something else. Then it was why their presence in my life was impactful and important, and how them being in my life made my whole life better. We did this every night to remind ourselves of the good that happened that day and the good that was in all of our lives. And telling each other about it as often as we could made it real, even if it was small, it was there. But sadly we couldn't be together forever. We had to go our separate ways at the end of the summer and this meant connecting with a new group of people at home. Most likely a group of people who weren't as open to just immediately talking about their feelings. But that's okay. You can work up to it. I evolved this practice to a series of texts and voice memos, and sometimes in person if I could, to remind the people around me that I loved them. I appreciated them. I was grateful for them. I was grateful for something they did. I was proud of them. Literally any excuse I could find to tell someone I loved them. It's really important to realize that this doesn't need to be a big gesture. I text my family after visits. I text my friends after their accomplishments. And I leave voice memos for my friends going through tough times. I know that I sometimes feel quite alone and I can only imagine how helpful it would be to in that moment receive a message of love. So here's a simple template of how I do this. I start with an affirming word, a word like friend, a word like family. Say it to them so that they know it's real. For me, when I say this word, I mean it. You are important to me. Then I immediately jump into something specific. Tell them what it is. Thank you for coming over the other night. Thank you for hosting me. Thank you for your kind message that you sent me. I just saw a photo that made me think of you. Be specific. The specificity helps both of us know this is important. This section here can be as long or as short as you'd like. This is, that's where you'd put your message. Then wrap up with an I love you. If it's family or a friend or an acquaintance, I know it's might be extreme and uncomfortable and new, but saying it out loud makes it so real and so true. Saying these words drives home the point that you care because you do. And then this last little point is just like a little Kent flare. Pick an emoji. Every message that you send out, pick your emoji and put your emoji there. So that every time everyone you know sees that emoji they think of you. My go-to is the sunflower smile. I send messages like this once a week or so, depending on who needs to hear it and when. Rocking the Cradle is a beautiful habit and it shares a lot of good with the world, which it certainly could use. It's cool to receive them back, but put all your value in sending these out because when you send a message like this, you're sending it directly to their heart directly to their emotions. And being open with our emotions with other people is an amazing way to connect on a deeper level. Let the good into your life. Let spirituality, let God, let whatever version of it is for you into your life and share it with others. This is how I choose to do it. Thanks for watching. My name is Kent, and this is how to Rock the Cradle.