Everyone passes the love test.
Since we are all perfectly imperfect, we are all lovers in that sense.
We are all always making LOTS of mistakes, and it helps to keep surprise close at hand, as well as self-compassion.
I so appreciate this lovely soul for tattooing these words.
And here for Valentine’s Day, we are reminded to love- not only in the way of lovers- in the way of loving it ALL as much as we can. Yes, all of it.
Even when it’s excruciating.
Even when it’s boring.
Even when it’s inconvenient
Which it usually is.
This part of a poem by Rumi reminds us that we are all one;
“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing
and rightdoing there is a field.
I’ll meet you there.
When the soul lies down in that grass
the world is too full to talk about”
Rumi
And when we contemplate being all one, we cry out, “But not them! Or him! Or her! Or certainly not that! Or DEFINITELY not that!!!!
Love flows through it all, no matter what.
I invite us all to have far more than a Valentines Day.
Have a Valentine’s LIFE.
Where your soul is known and you choose love more often than fear. Where you do the deep and necessary psychological excavations and repairs. Where you cry as often as laughing and there’s no distinction. Where you choose peace over trying to be right. Where you rise up and act for what’s right. Where you lie down frequently and rest guiltlessly. Where you love wildly with all your faucets turned on.
Where you realize that you are here as much to feel as you are to heal, and that life keeps moving forward as love does.
How are you, or can you be loving in this moment? Let me know~
For your Valentine’s Life, practice with these:
Consider yourself a lover of this world and act that way
Make yourself available to be loved and loving by seeing with your eyes of love- especially if and when it doesn’t look like what you think love looks like. Find more places where you can offer love and expand on those. Repeat.
When you feel fear, feel it
It sounds so obvious, and yet many of us resist feeling fear when it comes. We will do almost anything to avoid or escape it.
Just 1 second of feeling it will shift that. Simply say out loud or to yourself, “Fear, I see you, I hear you, I acknowledge you.”
This will allow fear to soften and change shape, and then know that you are there with it- that changes everything. Use this formula to fully feel all your feelings.
Stay Loose and Rest More
There is so much to do, solve, repair and overcome in this world and in our lives.
Staying loose will allow any rigidity to soften and new solutions to flow in.
Resting more often will shelter your soul until you arise again, to do the work and feel the feelings and dare again to love in the midst of it all.
Here’s to us all in our Valentine’s Lives, even when it doesn’t feel that way at all.
Our collective hearts are mighty beyond measure, and love just keeps multiplying beyond anything unlike itself.
Let me know where and how your love is flowing~
Love,
Thank you for your loving thoughts that express LOVE in its infinite ways of showing up in the world. I spent Valentine’s Day moving through time and space with heart open. Love flowed in, in unexpected ways. I felt so grateful!