By Jill Osborn

Clemmons Courier

As a child, Doug Brown remembers his mother reading to him.

She read to him at night before he went to sleep. She lovingly read to him during the day on the floor and on the couch.

His mother raised Brown and his two younger sisters without a husband.

“I never met my real dad. Somehow or another my mother managed to give me confidence,” says Brown. “She built self-esteem in me. A lot of times, men get self-esteem from their dad. She gave that to me. She never met a stranger and I inherited that. She never talked bad about anybody and I inherited that. She was the go-to in the family if anyone had any issues.”

Brown inherited that, too.

For the last couple of years, Brown has been shooting outdoor videos that inspire others. He records them on his phone.

The topics range from issues about misinterpretations of text messages to coping with cancer and death. As a result, people reach out to Brown for advice and ways to cope.

He calls the videos, ‘Lively Outdoor Video Encouragement,’ or L.O.V.E. He began making them two years ago. At first, Brown made a couple of videos a week. But since Christmas, Brown has made one everyday no matter the weather.

“I really felt like God was telling me to do them everyday. Until further notice, that is what your supposed to do.”

Before each video, Brown meditates and asks God to talk to him.

“I try to get a feeling of what most people would want to hear that day,” Brown says. “Once I come up with a subject, I try to think of something funny related to the subject. I try to be real and talk directly to the people listening. Once I start recording, the video is on Facebook within 10 minutes.”

Brown typically has about 300 people watching his videos everyday.

Does he make money? Not a cent. He does it because he believes.

“You are not living unless you are giving. I don’t think you are deserving unless you are giving,” says Brown. “My three favorite words are love, give, and serve.”

Brown’s positive attitude could easily have been crushed when his mother fell ill in her early 50s.Brown quit college to take care of her. She ultimately passed away. he might have also had a hard time getting back up when his sister passed away in her early 40s.

“My grandmother had eight kids and five of them died before she did.”

Yet Brown remains upbeat. He believes it is because of his faith.

“People have different faiths and I respect that. I promote faiths that teach peace and love. That’s where I get my inspiration from and my hope.”

In his video about death, Brown says, “Dying doesn’t have to be a separation. It can be a graduation. It’s separation from family, but it’s a graduation into Heaven.”

Brown believes he probably should have gone into ministry, but felt taking care of his mother was more important than completing college at the time.

Brown, of Mocksville, works at the Clemmons Post Office, where he has been for the last eight years. “The very best part is the contact with the customers.The people I work with are the same way.”

Brown says customers even comment about his online videos. “It’s cool when people from the Post Office share my videos on Facebook. People ask me, ‘Don’t you ever have a bad day?’ Because people say they don’t ever see it. Maybe I am just that way. My optimism just burns off the negativity,” says Brown. “Doing the videos is also a good outlet for me.”

Another great outlet is his family.

About his wife Rebekah, Brown says, “She is my backbone is my backbone…” Brown and Rebekah have a son, Douglas. Since Brown was fatherless, he says being a dad is one of the most rewarding experiences in his life. “I have tried to be the best father figure to my son that my father wasn’t. Being a husband and a father is my ultimate calling.”

Brown and his wife homeschooled Douglas for 11 years before he graduated from Davie High School.

“I was determined my son would go to college debt free and finish.” Douglas seems to be following in his father’s footsteps. “He’s studying communications. He’s a good speaker and writer, but doesn’t know if he could make a living out of it.”

No matter what Douglas decides to do, it is certain his father will be there cheering him on, just as Brown does for society with his online videos.

“I’ve always loved encouraging people one-on-one and when someone comes to me discouraged or depressed, I love building them up. When I got my smart phone, I thought, ‘Wow this take videos. Why not use social media to encourage people?’”

Social media can be a powerful tool for negative and positive messages. While Brown’s mother was not privy to the social media age, what she did do was encourage Brown to go out into the world and spread love. Spreading love is exactly what he is doing with his L.O.V.E. videos.

To see Brown’s videos, go to: https://www.Facebook.com/OutdoorEncouragement.

“Your Neighbor” is a feature by Jill Osborn printed weekly in The Clemmons Courier.  Reach her at jill.n.osborn@gmail.com. Follow her blog on parenting at MuchAdoAboutMothering.com/.