Love Is...

I just love Valentine's Day.  I love the color red, I love the fact that it's a reason to celebrate love, and I love that we're allowed to give chocolates, flowers and cards as tokens of our affection for those we love.  One of my fondest memories as a little girl was making Valentine's day cards to put in my classmates special Valentine's day envelope.  I looked forward to cutting the heart shapes, pasting the hearts on the pretty white doilies, and writing my special note to my friends. Even better, was seeing all the smiles and hearing all the laughter as we opened each others Valentine cards.  Sharing our kindess and affection was so easy and fun when we were children. Those were happy times.

We can often take love and those we love for granted.  Some people can go for days, weeks and even years without sharing their "I love you's" with others.  Conversely, some folks can go years without being told that they're loved or appreciated.  I think that is so sad.  I think that if you love something or someone you should share it as soon as you feel inspired. Although, I happen to be one of those people who loves love and who's a hopeless romantic. I've always worn my heart on my sleeve.  It took me a while to realize that not everyone was the same.  As I reflect back, I understand why...it's not easy being so sensitive to others and to the world around you.  It takes a while to develop an understanding that everyone is different and unique.  However, I do know one similarity: EVERYONE, and I mean EVERYONE wants to be loved.  It is said that it's better to love than to be loved...what do you think?  I think we need the balance of both.  Perhaps that's why there are so many pet owners in our society.  Animals love us unconditionally.  We love them and they love us back. It's pretty simple.  Maybe we should go back to being simple again.

I'm so grateful that I've been given the gift of helping others.  Whether it's a health issue, emotional issue, or the loss of a loved one, I'm continually reminded of how important love is.  For example, whenever the spirit of a deceased loved one comes through for someone the spirit ALWAYS comes through with a message of Love.  It's so beautiful. Sometimes I'm even moved to tears because the love is so pure and so powerful. It's a constant reminder to me how important love is to our everyday lives.  Some of the most beautiful messages of love come from the spirits who never met the great-granddaughter, or great-grand-neice sitting before me because they passed away years before they were born. I feel so honored to bring through these messages of love to others because Love really does last forever.  

This month don't miss out on an opportunity to share your love with someone. Sharing love is sharing kindness.  I remember my US History teacher in college, Mr. Gillmette.  Mr. Gillmette was lecturing about some important event in US history and in the midst of his speech he went off track.  He began talking about how people aren't kind to each other anymore.  People aren't nice to each other anymore.  Mr. Gillmette told us that we need to start being kind to each other.  I never forgot that.  I heard this message almost 26 years ago and I remember it verbatim.  I don't remember what historical event he was lecturing about, but I DO remember him telling us to be kind to each other. Now that's a Life Lesson. I'm so grateful to Mr. Gillmette for going off topic and sharing this very important Truth with us during class. 

This month I invite you to share that you care by being kinder to others. Give your kindness to a stranger, it'll brighten their day. You have no idea how powerful you are.  Your smile, your warm hello, your simple gesture of holding the door for someone are all examples of kindness. Simple acts of kindness show that you care about life and someone other than yourself.  There's too much suffering in the world today.  Too many people are losing their faith in life. Some people suffer from loneliness and believe that nobody cares about them.  Ignite a little spark in their life today by being kind.  Let others know that they matter in this world.  What a beautiful way to help make the world a better place.