Love is Everywhere

airport hugs

One of the very important milestones in my life occurred on Valentines Day. My husband John and I celebrate February 14th every year, not only because of the day itself, but also because it is the anniversary of our first date. I don’t think that we consciously chose that day when we first began dating each other. As I think back fifteen years ago, I remember that it was the first available time in our schedules to get together. That evening, John arrived with a bouquet of flowers, and then he took me out to dinner and a movie. It was a very romantic and memorable night for me.

As I reflect upon what Valentines Day means to me, I am also reminded that I often see expressions of love in what may be considered the unlikeliest of places. One place in particular where I see that is at airport arrival areas. I always notice the large crowd of families, friends, acquaintances, and business associates who patiently wait for the deplaning passengers. As the passengers arrive and I see people embracing one another, shaking each other’s hands, or running to greet each other, it strikes me time and time again that all of these gestures – right down to someone taking the time out of their day to wait for someone to arrive – are all, in fact, expressions of love. It’s not something that we hear about on the evening news or read about in the papers the next day.

So, in keeping with that thought, I often wonder what is really behind all this glitz and glitter of Valentines Day. Are we not trying to say that love relationships are important in our lives? If it is, then how do we celebrate that?

It would seem that by assigning one particular day in February to such an important foundation of our life, something seems amiss. In the reality of our world, what makes the news is not love but war, hatred, violence, and the doom and gloom of today’s economic challenges. The media creates and maintains the frenzy, and we, as humans, are spellbound.

In spite of the mass hysteria, one outstanding thing that still remains is that human beings have one thing in common with each other. Everyone has the ability, as well as the desire, to love and be loved.

When life begins, we assume that it is created because two people love one another. Is it not embedded in our DNA to move towards another human being in love? Do not each of us crave to be loved for who we are, not for how we look or how much money we have?

Who is important in your life? How do you show your love? Is it shown through service and caring for another person every day whether you feel like it or not? Do you speak your love daily to the ones you hold dear? Do you forgive each other when feelings are hurt? Do you turn to each other in good times and in bad?

When you think about love, you may immediately conjure up images of young, married couples. But love is about so much more than that. It’s about the son who is now caring for his elderly father who has dementia or it can be about the single mom with an autistic young daughter. It’s about the friend that you’ve lost touch with, who still greets your phone call with an enthusiastic hello and picks up where both of you left off years ago as if you’ve never missed a beat. It’s about the volunteer who brings a hot meal and a smiling face to an elderly shut in. It’s about your next door neighbor who shovels your driveway after a big storm because he knows you have a bad back. Sometimes, love is about the hard choices that you have to make especially when reality sets in and no one is thoughtful enough to remember you with a gift on Valentine’s Day. Love can be found where there is service and heartfelt devotion.

Can we really survive without love? Just think about that for a moment. What comes to mind when you do? For me, I think that just as food is necessary for the body, love is essential also. Remember to feed both body and soul by getting and giving at least three hearty hugs a day and telling an important person in your life how you feel. If you also take the time to look around and notice, you will also see that love really IS everywhere.

Until next time, I wish you love not only on Valentines Day but on every day of the year.

Bride