love ...love...love...

                                                                Heart Bokeh    Originally uploaded by jonghank

The time approaches that has our attention focused on LOVE...  hearts, candy and flowers everywhere. For our sweethearts, or Mothers for sure but I remember a time we gave that love to everyone.

Remember when you had a little bag of Valentine cards you took to school with each child's name on them as well as your own? I remember I gave one to each child in my class, the teacher and anyone else I could think of and I felt as warm & fuzzy as the person receiving the card.

This Valentine's Day be generous with your love - give everyone a smile, let that car in a hurry go first, or maybe someone in a check out line has less items than you do so you let them go first.  No one has an easy ride on this journey even though it may appear as though some do - we all have our own load to bear and usually it's not obvious or visible.

So give a smile to a stranger who may have just been diagnosed with cancer, or the person in line who may be going through a painful divorce or loss. Be kind to the person cutting you off in traffic, perhaps they are responding to a family emergency. After all ...love is free and you have plenty ;-)

We are not all alike, we don't all like the same things and don't react or respond alike and that's O.K.  We are free to stand in who we are even if it differs with another's opinion or view.   It doesn't take away or cost you anything to allow my individuality or alternative response.  So recently in a conversation when I stated my opinion and someone said "What's wrong with you, why are you like that" I responded instead of reacting by simply saying that by my having a difference of opinion didn't make either of us right or wrong,  just different. We are all still worthy of love.

So let's give out lots of smiles, happy blog comments, thank yous, and random acts of kindness to all these unsuspecting love targets.       I dare you .....