Celebrate Love – Live Love

We often use the word “love” very liberally without much thought or feeling. For example: “I love your jewelry. I love this restaurant.” But, what is love anyway?

Love is a challenge to describe. Yes, it’s a feeling. We tend to agree on that. But from there, if we were to conduct a survey of thousands of people, we’d most likely get thousands of varying answers. I think it would be fun and enlightening to ask children for their answer to this question. If you are old enough to remember Art Linkletter’s, “Kids Say the Darndest Things” or if you’re a primary grade or nursery school teacher, you know what I mean.

Today we associate Valentine’s Day with love, hearts and flowers, candy, giving tokens of our affection and being with special people in our lives. It’s a time when sweethearts affirm their “love” for each other and many vows are taken.

The historic beginnings of Valentine’s Day appear to have their roots in the pagan ritual of Lupercalia in the first century or perhaps earlier. The festivities began the evening of February 14 and continued on the15th. This celebration honored Juno, the Roman Goddess of women and marriage and focused on fertility.

In ancient Rome, boys and girls were usually kept separate. On this holiday, the young maidens wrote their names on a piece of paper. The young men drew a name. Then the couples spent the time celebrating with each other and often ended up marrying later.

In the 200’s, Claudius, ruler of the Roman Empire, was having difficulty getting men to enlist in the military. He felt it was because the men didn’t want to leave their families and sweethearts. His solution was to make marriage illegal and cancel all current ones. Valentine was one of the priests who performed secret marriages. He was caught and sentenced to death.

The Church later granted sainthood to Valentine, adopted February 14 as a religious holiday, changed the holiday to drawing the names of saints (which somehow never caught on) and, finally, removed it from the church calendar during the latter part of the last century. (This is one of many stories on the internet about the origin of Valentine’s Day.) And now…from fertility back to love.

What do you believe about love? Where does love come from? Is it external or internal? Is it physically, mentally, emotionally or spiritually based?

We sometimes say, “I can’t find love. I don’t feel loved.” If this is true for you, it may be because you’re waiting for someone else to fulfill your need for love. To find love, first look for love, and feel love within yourself.

Love is a state of being at a deep, spiritual level. True love does not require anything but an open, compassionate heart. To feel love, sit quietly, take a few deep breaths releasing all tension and stress; then focus your attention on your heart center in a peaceful relaxed way. Connect with that place of love within and let it extend to something or someone you love. Keep your thoughts as quiet as possible. A state of “no thought” is ideal but may take practice to achieve. Just notice any thoughts or places of tension that may come up without judgment. Continue this for five or ten minutes. As you do this regularly, you may be able to focus your attention for longer periods. You may notice your breathing slowing down or getting deeper; you may feel more warmth at your heart or find yourself smiling. Stop this exercise when it feels right to you.

Treat yourself with compassion, kind words, essential oils, yoga, massage, leisurely and fun activities and quiet contemplation. Let others know how you expect to be treated. Know you deserve the best. Once you know you are worthy of love and feel it deep inside, you’ll attract more love from others, you’ll find that you will attract more of what you desire in life and less of what you don’t want.

Love, in the purest sense, is not linked to needing someone nor to feeling an unquenchable attachment to things or money. Love just is, in every moment and every place. For some spiritual love poetry, look for Hafiz or Rumi poems or for a CD, “Gift of Love,” by deepok & friends. Check out this link for more of Rumi’s poetry. http://peacefulrivers.homestead.com/Rumilove.html

Yes, spend time with the special people in your life this Valentine’s Day and every day. Just remember to connect with the love in your heart often to find that unending supply no matter what’s going on around you. Make each day a time to feel love, share love and be love. Peace, love and joy to you!

The minute I heard my first love story,

I started looking for you, not knowing

how blind that was.

Lovers don’t finally meet somewhere,

they’re in each other all along.

From Essential Rumi trans.by Coleman Barks

When your chest is free of your limiting ego,

Then you will see the ageless Beloved.

You can not see yourself without a mirror;

Look at the Beloved, He is the brightest mirror.

From Thief of Sleep, (Rumi)  trans.by Shahram Shiva