All Things Nice . . .

 

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I love bright things -- a blue cup for my tea

A pottery plate bright as an orang skin,

A drinking glass with yellow tulips on,

The gaudy sparkle of a jewelled pin.

I loved a table cloth where roses bloom

Cheerful and gay as any flower bed,

Red hollyhocks beside a garden wall,

A pewter plate to hold my daily bread.

I love bright curtains draped in tiny folds

To let the gleaming bars of sunlight through,

A cushion on a chair of colored blocks,

 A tiny woven rub of turquoise blue.

I love a crimson coat gay as a flag,

A white sail poised above a quiet sea,

The royal blue of grapes . . . the sheen of silk,

Red candles shining on a Christmas tree.

I love blue lightening . . raindrops on a wire

A golden hilltop  . . planes with silver wings,

The world is beautiful and fair to me,

I have the company of lovely things.

~Edna Jacques, I Love Bright Things

Aunt Hatties Place, 1949

I, too, love the allure of bright things. Pretty things. They catch my eye and I cannot help but look and smile.  We have been given such a beautiful planet to live on, full of majestic wonders and miracles. I love to watch the nature shows and see these things up close. Funny that. When I was a child I hated television on Saturdays. It was always filled with fishing and hunting shows, nature shows. A show called The Untamed World. I felt them to be very boring. After all the excitement of Saturday morning cartoons and a film at the local Cinema in the afternoon, these shows that were on the television in the late afternoon while we waited for our supper to be done could hardly hold a candle.

But now, as an adult, I love them. Well maybe not fishing and hunting shows, but I do enjoy the nature shows. David Attenborough. Michael Palin.  . . . travel shows on YouTube. I find them all very entertaining and interesting. 

To me there is nothing more beautiful than a field of daffodils, yellow heads dancing in the gentle breeze on a sunny spring day. The sound of water trickling over the stones in a brook. The song of the blackbird delights. I love it all.

 

 

 

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Today is Valentines Day. I am sure that is not news to you.  Many would argue that its a day invented by card companies to help take away your cash . . . and there are some who would say that you shouldn't need a special day of the year to show your loved ones that you love them, and that would be right on both counts, but it is a day I love all the same.   I do try to show my loved ones that I love them every day, but it's kind of nice to "celebrate" that every day love in a special way on Valentines day!  I think so at any rate.   And who doesn't like to get a card or special object of remembrance or appreciation? 

I have Eileen's gifts sitting in the place she likes to sit at on the sofa, just waiting for her to get up.  I hope that she is surprised. To make her smile and bring some light into her life is something which makes me really happy. 

We have plans to cook a special meal and bake some cookies today. We can be each other's Valentine. Perhaps we will watch a movie and have a special snack.

I love the film Forest Gump.   There are lots of memorable scenes and lines in it like . . .  Life is like a box of chocolates, etc.   But one of my favorite lines from the film is when Forest says to Jenny, "I am not a smart man, but I know what Love is."  That line always touches my heart in a special way.

You DON'T have to be smart to know what love IS, and you don't have to be smart to know what love ISN'T!

Love . . . its the one thing which we cannot thrive without, next to food and water.   Scientific experiments have shown this to be true.  Love even makes flowers bloom better, and can soften even the hardest of hearts. 

 

 

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Love comes in many shapes, sizes, types . . . there is no one single kind of love.  Love is wine and roses, and yet it is much more than wine and roses.  Love is selfless, all-consuming, giving, patient, kind, long-suffering, generous in thought mind and deed, courageous . . . love does not fail, no matter when, what or how.

Love is the greatest commandment . . . which is two fold.  The first part being to love God with all your mind, heart and souls, and the second being to love others as you would love yourself.  Christ taught that on these two aspects of love, all the other commandments hung.

And indeed, if everyone in the world practiced just those two things, this very world we live in would be utterly and totally transformed.

 

Love can turn our enemies into friends. The Saviour taught us to "Pray for those that despitefully use you."  It is pretty hard not to love someone you are praying for, and in turn . . . it is very difficult not to love someone who thinks enough of you to pray for you.  Love transforms everything.  It makes the unlovable somehow loveable . . .

It's like a magic potion that changes everything in it's wake . . . 

 

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February is the month of love.  There are many kinds of love. I think my days of Romantic love are long over now, but I am grateful for the opportunity I had to live and experience it.  Romantic love is fleeting for the most part and if you are one of the lucky few who has managed to keep it alive, then you are very blessed indeed. 

The Greeks had several words for love, helping them to distinguish through the different types.

• Eros: This is the type of love that is often portrayed in movies and novels. It is characterized by passion and desire, and is often associated with physical attraction. 
•  Philia: This type of love is based on friendship and mutual respect. It is often seen in long-term relationships, where the partners have a deep understanding and appreciation of each other. 
•  Storge: This is the type of love that exists between family members. It is characterized by a deep sense of affection and loyalty. 
•  Agape: This is a selfless type of love that is often associated with religious or spiritual beliefs. It is characterized by a deep sense of compassion and empathy for others. 
•  Ludus: This is a playful type of love that is often seen in the early stages of a relationship. It is characterized by a sense of fun and excitement. 
•  Pragma: This is a practical type of love that is often seen in long-term relationships. It is characterized by a sense of commitment and dedication. 
•  Philautia: This is a type of love that is directed towards oneself. It can be either healthy or unhealthy, depending on the degree of self-love. 

"Love is the very essence of life. It is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Yet it is more than the end of the rainbow. Love is the security for which children weep, the yearning of youth, the adhesive that binds marriage, the lubricant that prevents devastating friction in the home; it is the peace of old age, the sunlight of hope shining through death."
~Gordon B Hinckley

Many of us have an armchair view of what love is. We manifest a staid, comfortable boundary for our feelings, and then we sit back, comfortably . . . safely within the limits we have imposed for ourselves. We don't go to love . . . we expect it to come to us.

We may read novels, and watch movies and television programs . . . seeking for them to bring us love vicariously . . . content merely to be passive observers. We are fearful of feeling things and doing things that might make demands on us, that can get out of hand and take us out of our comfort zones.

Love is not known to thrive and grow in such an atmosphere. Real lovers do more than just seek out the comfort of love. They work hard to make it an art, which requires a continuous expanding of their senses and sharpening of their perceptions in order to keep them up with the challenges that loving, and being loved, might bring to them.

Love is like a blank canvas that awaits the stroke of an artist's brush, except that this is a painting that will and should never be finished, but always be a work in progress. As with all creative works, our vision gets clearer as we labour. The joy comes, not so much in the finishing of our masterpiece, but in the journey we took to get there.

 

 

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"It is when we ask for love less, and begin giving it more, that the secret of human love is revealed to us."
~Leo Buscaglia

Love isn't in the card, the flowers and the candy that may come your way on this day. It is in the touch of a hand that you know cares every single day of the year, or a gentle smile from a warm, friendly and understanding face, a sincere word spoken in comfort and true compassion. It's in the everyday caring gestures that we should all give and be given . . . just . . . because. 

 

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If only everyone in the world could learn to love unconditionally, with forgiveness in their hearts for all mankind, and acceptance. There would be no more wars, no hunger.  Children would not go to bed afraid. There would be a place for everyone to lay their head.  Everyone would be fed and clothed and cared for.  Maybe one day  . . . .  

Faith, family, home, friends . . .  I am surrounded by abundance.

I wish for each of you a beautiful Valentines Day. Be loved.  Be safe. Be happy.

A thought to carry with you  . . . 

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★

 *.˛. You are your home.

Take care of yourself.•。★★ 。* 。 

In The English Kitchen today  . . .  Strawberry Almond Cream Cheese Danish.  Easy to make and delicious, of course.

Have a beautiful weekend all.  I wish only the best for each of you. Don't forget! 

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And I do too!