Thoughts on love . . .

We are all born for love. It is the principle of existance, and it's only end.
~Benjamin Disraeli

I'm not sure when I was a young woman/late teen that I really knew what love was. I'm not sure that most young people do . . . unless they are very lucky, or incredibly wise. I thought love was all hearts and flowers . . . starry eyes, bells and whistles . . .

Age and experience has taught me that it is much, much more than that.

Some people fear that when beauty fades away . . . so does love. They fail to realize one of life's great truths that it is actually the other way around . . . it is only when love fades, that beauty is gone.

Love helps us to be more comfortable with, and accepting of, each other's little foibles and imperfections. It's not appalled by sagging bellies, balding heads, wrinkles or other inconsequential things . . . true love concentrates on internal beauty, a beauty that is unaffected by time and age. It is not that love is blind . . . but rather that love sees the more important things . . .



Some of us begin relationships fearing that in the long run they will fail or bring us pain, or they avoid relationships out of the same fear. There is no greater harbinger of failure than to invite it as a possibility . . . but . . . why shouldn't our futures be ones of brightness and goodness, productivity and growth? Love doesn't insist upon perfection and neither should we. Love thrives in a positive view of self . . . life . . . and our world. When we focus on constructive images that help to enrich our relationships . . . we are less limited by our pasts and more encouraged by our present . . .

Love is nourished by optimism.

Find a person who will love you because of your differences . . . and not in spite of them . . . and you will have found the great love of your life. We are, each of us, individuals, filled with differences that make us who we are and determine the directions of our growth. It is our uniqueness that actually attracts others to us, and can be our most loving gift to them. Love celebrates the differences . . . and builds upon them.



Love is ageless . . . and has nothing to do with age. People don't grow old because they have lived a number of years . . . it is an attitude of mind. We grow old when we give up our sense of having fun. We age when we relinquish our ideals, our dignity, our hope, our belief in miracles. Age comes when we forget to enjoy life and are no longer excited by the new . . . and challenged by the dream. As long as we are able to celebrate the richness of the world that is ours to enjoy . . . to hear the laughter in the voice of love . . . . to continue to believe in ourselves . . . then age is incidental.

I contend that love is the long sought after Fountain of Youth. As long as we have love . . . we remain young. Death quite simply becomes our final stage of development here on earth. It would do to remember that we are all, each of us, transient guests here . . . less than a century is not long to live really . . . but it is certainly long enough to learn what love is, and what it's all about. Life lived for tomorrow will always be just a day away from being realized. We must learn to cherish the here and the now, every day of our lives . . . to recognize the love that comes our way . . . . and to accept and nourish it.

Love is not love unless it is used. It is just a useless, abstract idea until we put it into action. Some people are misguided into believing that live is finite . . . that if you give too much, you will deplete your supply. The truth is love dwindles without use . . . what else do we have to give that costs us so little? What else is so inexhaustible in supply? What else reaps such gross and abundant benefits to both the giver and the receiver?



So many of us take life and love for granted and bemoan the fact that we have so little control over either of them. We seldom slow down enough to consider the wonder of our existance . . . and we rarely take the time to appreciate the many miracles that surround us every day, the greatest of which is love . . . both given and received. If there is to be any poetry, romance or meaning in life . . . it will be because we created it for ourselves. The life and love we create . . . is the life and love we live. When it comes to giving and finding love . . . the opportunities are unlimited and we are all gifted.

Love just is . . . and it is all around us. Happy Valentines Day to you all! Don't forget I love you!

Todd and I never go out for Valentines Dinner. The food is always over-priced, the restaurants are always over crowded . . . and the taste never lives up to our expectations. I would rather take the same amount of money and cook us a really good meal at home, where I know that the meal will not only taste delicious, but that the service is beyond compare! This is the dessert that I will be making us tonight.


(picture courtesy of Pillsbury)

*Raspberry Dessert a Deux*
Serves 2
Printable Recipe

Quick, easy and quite, quite delicious.

1/2 of a packet of ready made puff pastry
1 small egg, beaten
1 tsp of granulated sugar
1/4 tsp of ground cinnamon
1/4 cup of raspberry yoghurt
1 cup of fresh raspberries
2 TBS of seedless raspberry jam, melted

Pre-heat the oven to 220*C/425*F/ gas mark 7. Line a baking tray with some parchment paper and lighty mist it with some oil.

Roll out the pastry to a 12 inch square. Carefully cut out two heart shapes and then place them onto the baking tray. Lightly score a one inch border all the way around the inside of the hearts. Brush this border with the beaten egg. Mix together the cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle the egg washed borders with this mixture. Bake for about 10 to 15 minutes until risen and golden brown. Remove from the oven and punch down the centres of the hearts with the back of a spoon, leaving the borders intact. Allow to cool completely.

Place each puff pastry heart onto a dessert plate. Divide the yoghurt between the two, spooning it into the middles. Top each with half of the raspberries and brush them with the melted jam. Serve immediately.




Over in The English Kitchen today, I'm talking about Perfectly Cooked Fish.