For children, Valentine’s Day means candy hearts, silly cards, and excitement in the air. How different Valentine’s Day can be for us as adults. The Love Day can be a symbol that we have not yet gotten love to work for us as we would like. Or it can be a symbol of something different, something better. We are in recovery now. We have begun the healing process. Our most painful relationships, we have learned, have assisted us on the journey to healing, even if they did little more than point out our own issues or show us what we don’t want in our life. We have started the journey of learning to love ourselves. We have started the process of opening our heart to love, real love that flows from us, to others, and back again. Do something loving for yourself. Do something loving and fun for your friends, for your children, or for anyone you choose. It is the Love Day. Wherever we are in our healing process, we can have as much fun with it as we choose. Whatever our circumstances, we can be grateful that our heart is opening to love. I will open myself to the love available to me from people, the Universe, and my Higher Power today. I will allow myself to give and receive the love I want today. I am grateful that my heart is healing, that I am learning to love.
One of my favorite Christian writers, Jon Swanson, reposted some very pithy content a few days ago…
I’d like to return this Valentine’s Day card.”
I can help you with that. … Um, you know that this has writing on it, right?
“Yep. I wrote that.”
You can’t return cards that have been used.
“Two weeks ago, I was in here. I bought a sweater. The first time I wore it, the sleeve started to unravel. You took that back.”
Yep. The sweater was defective. How’s the new one?
“Great. Thanks. Now, about that card?”
But you can’t return cards that have been used.
“The other month, I was in here. I had a toaster. It didn’t heat up. You took that back.”
Yep. The toaster was defective. Were you able to find another one?
“I went to another store and they were able to give me what I wanted. Now, about that card.”
But you can’t return cards that have been used.
“I wore the sweater. You took it back. I used the toaster. You took it back. Why are you making a scene about the card?”
It’s different. You can’t return cards that have been used.
“But it didn’t work. I wrote in it. I gave it to my wife. And it didn’t work. So I would like a refund.”
What do you mean, exactly, that it didn’t work?
“Isn’t that a little personal? I mean, you have pictures of men handing women cards and the women smiling. And pictures of men handing women chocolate and the women smiling. And I won’t even start to tell you what happened when other stores showed pictures of men handing women diamond bracelets. But it didn’t work.”
You mean your wife didn’t smile when you handed her the card?
“It was more of a snort.”
When was this?
“On the 16th. I got it when they were marked down.”
Bright, shiny objects! 