Valentine's Day
I just got off the phone with a friend who shared how much she hates this day. Don't tell my sister because today is actually her "favorite holiday". While my friend abhors Valentine's Day my sister uses it to show love to everyone around her including herself, putting on a red dress, going out on the town and celebrating all that love is.
Like other holidays it seems to me that Valentine's day is filled with advertisements that encourage us to spend money and feel as guilty as possible about the love we withheld or failed to express to the people we claim to love, specifically our spouses but let's not rule out friends. This is for some the one and only time they buy flowers for their partner and use the words I love you more than one time. In fact, this is the one day that some wives finally get the massage they have been asking about for the past fifteen years. All of a sudden their husband not only is ready with massage oil packaged in a way that cost him double what it was worth, he even purchased a pair of sexy underwear for himself. The question we might all have is why does it have to be a holiday about love for us to receive some special and loving treatment or the red roses? Why can't we live in that kind of awareness all the time?
Love can be a celebration we create any time and in many ways. We can express it where and when we see the need with whom we sense wants and needs some loving. I am on board with Valentine's day and believe me when I say it, I love chocolates in a heart shaped box, especially Godiva, but we don't have to wait for a year to eat all the chocolate that our heart desires or give a friend a poem we have written for them. We can uncover ways to show our love, creative and spontaneous ways.
This year I wrote a love letter to both my granddaughters upon my daughter's request to do so because the schools they attend wanted families to write them as a sign of love. I loved this idea and I write love letters during the year to my daughters, family members and friends knowing fully that saying I love you and value you means something to others and demonstrates that we are in an appreciation and awareness around love. We can wait until February 14 to send that card, write that poem or give someone some pampering or we can do it when the spirit moves us, even when the spirit doesn't move us.
Love is unconditional, has no expiration date and is free. Love isn't something we can package but it is something we can do in a way that is beautiful and uplifting. When we surrender to love we don't need a holiday to show love. When we are in our authentic place and fearless we can show love at any time and not depend so much on the time of year and the myth that now is a good time while last week was not. Love is free so we don't have to hoard it or save it for some other time when we think we might need it.
When love feels uncomfortable or when love feels overwhelming that is a sign that we are afraid of love or that we are fearful of being hurt if we give too much love. The truth is that there is no limit or certain amount of love to go around and that when we are in fear of love we become cheap with our feelings. I say give it all you have and give it to strangers. Love doesn't have a form, shape or size. It can be expressed in a smile and the recipient who is yearning for love will take it in. The next time that you get a chance to share some love, even if you feel uncomfortable and afraid, force your heart to open up and express it to someone else, especially keep some for yourself.
Happy Valentine's Day
Coach Elliott
Like other holidays it seems to me that Valentine's day is filled with advertisements that encourage us to spend money and feel as guilty as possible about the love we withheld or failed to express to the people we claim to love, specifically our spouses but let's not rule out friends. This is for some the one and only time they buy flowers for their partner and use the words I love you more than one time. In fact, this is the one day that some wives finally get the massage they have been asking about for the past fifteen years. All of a sudden their husband not only is ready with massage oil packaged in a way that cost him double what it was worth, he even purchased a pair of sexy underwear for himself. The question we might all have is why does it have to be a holiday about love for us to receive some special and loving treatment or the red roses? Why can't we live in that kind of awareness all the time?
Love can be a celebration we create any time and in many ways. We can express it where and when we see the need with whom we sense wants and needs some loving. I am on board with Valentine's day and believe me when I say it, I love chocolates in a heart shaped box, especially Godiva, but we don't have to wait for a year to eat all the chocolate that our heart desires or give a friend a poem we have written for them. We can uncover ways to show our love, creative and spontaneous ways.
This year I wrote a love letter to both my granddaughters upon my daughter's request to do so because the schools they attend wanted families to write them as a sign of love. I loved this idea and I write love letters during the year to my daughters, family members and friends knowing fully that saying I love you and value you means something to others and demonstrates that we are in an appreciation and awareness around love. We can wait until February 14 to send that card, write that poem or give someone some pampering or we can do it when the spirit moves us, even when the spirit doesn't move us.
Love is unconditional, has no expiration date and is free. Love isn't something we can package but it is something we can do in a way that is beautiful and uplifting. When we surrender to love we don't need a holiday to show love. When we are in our authentic place and fearless we can show love at any time and not depend so much on the time of year and the myth that now is a good time while last week was not. Love is free so we don't have to hoard it or save it for some other time when we think we might need it.
When love feels uncomfortable or when love feels overwhelming that is a sign that we are afraid of love or that we are fearful of being hurt if we give too much love. The truth is that there is no limit or certain amount of love to go around and that when we are in fear of love we become cheap with our feelings. I say give it all you have and give it to strangers. Love doesn't have a form, shape or size. It can be expressed in a smile and the recipient who is yearning for love will take it in. The next time that you get a chance to share some love, even if you feel uncomfortable and afraid, force your heart to open up and express it to someone else, especially keep some for yourself.
Happy Valentine's Day
Coach Elliott
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