I really like St. Valentine’s Day! It may have something to do with the fact that my preferred Love Language is Gifts (not familiar with Love Languages? See Marcia Walker’s blog beingyoubeingus.blogspot.com) But it also is about the importance I put on Love as an energy in our world.
According to the folks involved in “A Course in Miracles” all the emotions we experience can be boiled down to two – love and fear. Every response we have comes from one of those places. If we accept that premise, we can preview any situation by imagining what will happen next if we respond from love and then if we respond from fear. We can envision our reaction, the other person’s response to our reaction, and so on until we know the end result of coming from love or coming from fear.
This process gives us a lot of freedom as we make our way through the world or through our day. We always have a choice about how we handle a situation. We can escalate a bad circumstance by choosing fear, or we can have a positive effect on ourselves, other people, and the world by deciding to let love be our guiding light. Regardless of what happens TO us, we get to make a conscious decision regarding how we respond.
So even though it’s not technically St Valentine’s Day any more, try coming from a place of love today, no matter who you’re with or what you do or what happens to you. Let me know how it goes! Blessings, Annie
Friday, February 15, 2008
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Lighting the Flames
"At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us." Albert Schweitzer
So it's the month of love and romance again. How's that going for you? As you might imagine, I have a suggestion for bringing special meaning to Valentine's Day in particular, and the Love Month, in general. What if we took Dr. Schweitzer's advice and spent some time remembering the people in our lives who have rekindled our flame? Well, first we'd have to determine what he meant by that term. I think he's referring to the idea that we are here en masse, instead of one at a time, for a reason - to help each other, to lift each other up, and to light each other's flames when one of us is having a hard time. We do this by reminding each other of our greatness, by encouraging one another to refuse to hide our light under a bushel, and by inspiring our family and friends to believe in themselves by showing them how much we believe in them. And in spite of all this, sometimes our light does go out, only to be rekindled by someone else's spark just when we need it most.
Are there people in your life who have rekindled your spark? Why not take advantage of the Love Month to tell them you appreciate them? Mention specifically what they did or said that meant so much to you and the difference they made in your life. Write a letter or tell them in person, leave a voicemail, or even a text message. The means of communication isn't important; the message is. Spread the flame!
So it's the month of love and romance again. How's that going for you? As you might imagine, I have a suggestion for bringing special meaning to Valentine's Day in particular, and the Love Month, in general. What if we took Dr. Schweitzer's advice and spent some time remembering the people in our lives who have rekindled our flame? Well, first we'd have to determine what he meant by that term. I think he's referring to the idea that we are here en masse, instead of one at a time, for a reason - to help each other, to lift each other up, and to light each other's flames when one of us is having a hard time. We do this by reminding each other of our greatness, by encouraging one another to refuse to hide our light under a bushel, and by inspiring our family and friends to believe in themselves by showing them how much we believe in them. And in spite of all this, sometimes our light does go out, only to be rekindled by someone else's spark just when we need it most.
Are there people in your life who have rekindled your spark? Why not take advantage of the Love Month to tell them you appreciate them? Mention specifically what they did or said that meant so much to you and the difference they made in your life. Write a letter or tell them in person, leave a voicemail, or even a text message. The means of communication isn't important; the message is. Spread the flame!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)