It's always about LOVE.

During those years with Flobird, we watched her live her life for others, and we felt the unconditional love that poured out of this woman. She taught me that when we speak of being of service, we are really whispering the secret of life. She served with such an uncanny joy and effortless approach that those around her were inspired to roll up their sleeves and learn the art of loving.

Flobird’s teachings were always simple. I remember something she once said that affected me deeply. I was in the backseat of a Dodge Dart driven by a guy named Steven. We were driving though Kailua on Oahu, and Flobird was in the front seat.

“Do you know how you can tell when you’re making progress on the spiritual path?” she asked. “How do you know you’re getting closer to God-consciousness?”

I was excited and asked, “How Flobird?”

She giggled softly and asked, “When you wake up in the morning, what is your first thought? Usually, it’s ‘Okay what do I feel like? What is going on in my life today?’ It’s ‘me this’ and ‘me that’. You’re making spiritual progress when you wake up and your very first thought is, ‘What can I do for someone else today?’ That is being with God. It’s that simple, that beautiful. When we get our thoughts off of self, the joy is so incredible.”

My personal growth was punctuated with profound teachings by Flobird during our travels. Once while camping on the North Shore of Oahu, we were all sitting around in a circle. The sun had just set on the horizon. As it disappeared into the ocean, there was a stillness within us all. As the day ended and the sky turned pink, red, and violet, I looked up and the colors reflected off of Flobird’s tan and wrinkled face. The glow magnified the joy in her eyes. The silence was broken when she asked, “Do you know what God’s will is?” Everyone responded with his or her own personal ideas, and some answers sounded rather esoteric.

Flobird smiled and said, “God’s will for us is to live, love, laugh, and be happy— and to be a channel for this joy and give it away.” This information moved through us like a magical current, with an ancient recognition. This type of spiritual teaching seemed so practical and obvious when we saw it in action through Flobird.

Later, I learned that Flobird’s teachings aligned with so many of the spiritual masters, as I was reminded by a story Ram Dass told. Ram Dass had a formal name of Richard Alpert. He was Tim Leary’s friend, and they became famous for their early experiments with LSD, but Richard ended up going to India and came back as Ram Dass. He and some other westerners went to India to see a guru. When they finally found him, he was on a hillside talking to a crowd of people. Someone asked Maharaji, meaning Great King, “How do we find enlightenment?” He smiled and said, “Serve people. Feed people.” We can’t get away from the fact that we have to give love, take no thought for self, and just be a channel of service.