The Real Deal on Valentine's Day

Valentine’s Day comes and goes with a flurry of cards, flowers, chocolates, and jewelry.

But is that all there is to love?

Of course not! Sure, these all are all sweet symbols designed to express our love. But our hearts hunger for more depth. Instead we are bombarded with product advertisements that only superficially echo the true nature of our love and support for colleagues, friends, and family.

But Valentine’s Day should – and does – offer us an opportunity to reflect on something more than just a one-dimensional celebration of the power of love.

After all, love has so many dimensions. For instance, what about the love that heals?

Years ago I had the privilege of serving as a prison chaplain and so I’m always heartened to hear prison chaplain stories and the different ways this work serves to address some basic human needs. Beyond the clothing, food, or shelter, that inmates need, this chaplaincy work supplies them with a spiritual connection that can help them find new meaning in life through this love. And that’s also what happened to both prisoners and distressed dogs who were videotaped being brought together in a program called Dogs on the Inside. The effect on both the mistreated and homeless dogs and the distrustful prisoners was amazing. Dogs and inmates were able to learn to trust and overcome past experiences, and when they did so their demeanor and behavior noticeably softened and changed.

There – in prison – the healing and transforming power of love was found.

This power of love has a surprising connection to the world of science. Most view science as analytical answers and measurable facts, while love’s power is by its very nature intangible and unquantifiable. But this doesn’t stop scientists from attempting to quantify and analyze the power of love. Going all the way back to the Bible, love has been and continues to be a force for good and a way for humanity to draw closer to God.

This echoes a powerful idea clarified by Mary Baker Eddy, author of a time-tested book on prayer-based healing, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, and founder of Christian Science: “God is Love. More than this we cannot ask, higher we cannot look, farther we cannot go.”

Everyone benefits if we approach the idea of love – including this day of love – with a more spiritual sense of what it means to care. There will be more harmony and more joy as a result. Because Love is God it is the most potent force on earth. Divine Love is more powerful than every kind of “prison sentence” that anyone may find themselves in.

What a healing gift to give to yourself and all you meet this Valentine’s Day and every day of the year!

Watch Dogs on the Inside video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SEiZSVflNU