It is winter. I happen to love this season and have no doubt that my Chicago upbringing with two very hardy parents and a lineage of generations that is from Poland and Sweden set things into motion for me to adore the cold, ice, and snow. It’s fun!
Winter also has the best holidays, the final winter jubilee being Valentine’s Day. What better way to add warmth to a chilled month than to dress it up in red and proclaim that love is good?!
Some people suffer with this holiday but I say there is no reason for that. We all have a heart – it is time to open it and share it with people you care about — whether you care a whole bunch or even just a little. This year, I decided that there is far too much time that passes between points of contact with people I care about and I sent out ~400 Valentine cards and gifts. I didn’t spend a fortune in order to make this happen; I got a hold of cute stuff for about a buck or less and shared it. Amazing what you can do if you decide you’d like to get generous with your love.
As I was packaging everything and writing notes, I thought about the events of September 11, 2001, that we now know as 9/11. The people victimized in the buildings and the planes who knew their death was eminent spent their final moments calling out to contact those they love – I have not heard any stories of anyone calling to repeat a grudge or yell hatred or express some displeasure with someone, nope. People reached out to embrace, in whatever manner was possible, someone in their mind and heart. We do that because there is never enough time for love and goodness.
Maya Angelou, a national treasure as author and poet, writes and says aloud that people may forget what you did or what you said but they will never forget how you made them feel. I am not waiting to put good feelings forth in the name of love.
