Love is all there is
I admit to being a sentimental fool and loving every minute of it- Having said that today is a day we can openly celebrate love.
I recently told a few friends that Valentine’s Day is nearly my favorite holiday. I got a few eye rolling looks and some limitation remarks like – well my husband doesn’t do romance or it’s just an excuse for Russell Stover to sell candy and Hallmark to sell cards (more on Hallmark later). That seems to me to be missing most of the point of celebrating love- but it provoked my taking a look at why is it that I say it’s one of my favorite holidays. So – the three women in my family – Mom, Big sis and me were remembered by my dad every Valentine’s Day of our lives…maybe he started with me around age 4 or 5. He would give me the small heart box of candy, my sister the medium sized heart of candy and my Mom the big box with the roses on it to boot. There would be a note for me on the kitchen table addressed to his little pal. When I say every Valentine’s Day of my life, I do mean every Valentine’s day. I moved to Boston, and then San Francisco and Los Angeles and back and then to the Tahoe Basin. Until the year he died at age 98, I got that box of candy with the card.
I have held many thoughts about how difficult my dad was for me – and managed to skip over the lessons I got from him that changed my life and stayed with me. This is one. I could write this off as a sweet father daughter story – or as gee wasn’t I lucky that I had a sentimental Dad? The thing is he wasn’t sentimental for 364 days a year – but on one day he gave himself permission to gush. And the permanent lesson he left with me wasn’t about the candy or even the funny cards – but about being thoughtful of others and giving love to everyone. So every Valentine’s day I start looking for treats for my friends or I start sharing chocolate with strangers because sometimes that is what lifts people up. (I did mention that is the purpose of this blog right?)
But on a deeper level – don’t we all need more love in our lives? Love for ourselves – love for the special others in our immediate sphere and love for our hurting planet, our troubled and currently ill world?? And don’t we all know that like those flapping butterfly wings in Thailand, everything we do effects everything else. As one of my friends and teachers Hale Dwoskin says, “Love is the cohesive force in the Universe.” Valentine’s Day is just one of many catalysts to remind us how important love is – not just the romantic kind but the deeper Divine kind that is literally everywhere and in everything.
So if your eyes are rolling at this blog and you are saying something sarcastic about that Hallmark card thing – let me add another anecdote. I had the privilege of consulting to Hallmark for 13 years – and being up close and personal with their amazing gift for sentiment – for celebration of life – and artistic expression beyond words. They are suffering from the changes in how we look at those things, and how we choose to express them – they are often criticized for being old fashioned and passé’ but let me tell you that they are the best at doing what they do because they have the Heart not just the talent, when they do it.
So if this blog is not just provoking you to gag – but is provoking you to give some love today here are a few suggestions:
Give love to someone you don’t know – a kind word, a big smile – a thank you at the post office, or grocery store or Uber driver.
Go straight to your Hallmark store and buy a card – give it to yourself if you want to – find the one that speaks to you – I guarantee there is one there just for you
Send the energetic of love to Australia or China or the homeless shelter in your town. Close your eyes – breathe from your heart and send off that love.
And know somewhere inside that Love is All there really is to do and be – Happy Valentine’s Day – I promise next week no schmaltz.
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