Yeah, I know. Valentine’s day is this week. How do you feel about it?
Do you feel loved? Do you have someone that you love? Do you appreciate this day to express that love, or does this day trigger painful emotions?
I think there are as many reactions to Valentine’s day as there are the spectrum of emotions. I personally appreciate the opportunity to express love and care for others. But I also don’t like the expectations and commercial aspect of “Valentine’s Day”.
And I don’t think this is about someone else – I think this day could be turned towards finding love wherever you are, inside of you. Because love isn’t limited to a person, a place, or a thing. Love is infinite, unlimited, and ever present. Love is the Divine, and it’s already within you.
But many of us have a difficult time finding and feeling this Divine Love within each of us. There are many reasons for this – spiritual beliefs, feeling unworthy, expectations, etc. One of the most effective ways to feel it is to express love out to others. But even that can be a serious challenge sometimes.
What works for me? Well, I have many ways that I tap into that unlimited source of Love, but there is one thing that opens me up to that Love almost every time. And that is going outdoors, sitting down, and deeply connecting with something in nature.
Right now, in California, we just had a warm spell and things are growing and blooming. I found a tiny sprout – the new life of a wildflower seed that I sowed in our front yard a few weeks ago – gently and bravely rising up between the wood chips.
I marveled at this seemingly insignificant form of life… how it trusts, reaches towards the sun, dares to unfold two little green leaves, and senses the possibilities. I wonder what plant it will become, the color of the flowers, how big it will grow.
I am reminded of my daughter who was just a baby 13 years ago, who now prepares for high school in the fall. She’s maturing into a heartfelt, wise, and determined young woman.
The tiny sprout… and my darling daughter… both expanding into their possibilities, both determined to be that which they came here to be. How can I not feel love for that sprout, even as I feel love for my daughter? Different, yes, but beautiful, magical, and all arising out of nature; one through my womb, the other through the womb of the earth’s soil.
My heart opens to feel the love for all creation. And as it opens to share that love, it opens to receive it. And that is how I experience the flood of Divine Love coming through me.
Just as I love my daughter and that sprout, I feel how Nature loves me: each unique creation unfolding on this planet is held, supported, nourished, and yes, loved by the Source of all life. That includes me, and that includes you.
Get outdoors. Find something to marvel at, great or small. Let it open your heart. If you do, you’ll feel the love for the dandelion growing in the cracks on the sidewalk, the tall and majestic pine tree, the sound of squirrels having a squabble on the neighbor’s fence, the fierce rain driving against your back. Life is full of miracles, and full of love. Behold the Beloved in all creation, and be held by the Beloved. Love is right here, right now, in and around you.
You don’t need Valentine’s Day for that.
Copyright @2018 by Rev. Connie L. Habash
