Open The Heart & Love

In prior posts, I have shared with you, an excerpt from an Ann Landers (Dear Abby) column, that I have carried around in my pocket for decades. My mother cut it out of the newspaper when I was sixteen, and handed it to me to read. I have kept it with me at all times since then. It is an article in which a woman wrote asking what love is. Ms Landers used something written by Laura Hendricks as her response. “Love is friendship caught fire; it is quiet, mutual confidence, sharing and forgiving. It is loyalty through good and bad times. It settles for less than perfection, and makes allowances for human weaknesses. Love is content with the present, hopes for the future, and does not brood over the past. It is the day-in and day-out chronicles of irritations, problems, compromises, small disappointments, big victories, and working toward common goals. If you have love in your life, it can make up for a great many things you lack. If you do not have it, no matter what else there is , it is not enough.”

Many people view today as a day to celebrate the relationships with their spouses, boyfriends, girlfriends, significant others, etc. Me, I view today, as a day to celebrate love in all its forms. With that said, it was important to let the girl who drew my blood, know I appreciated her. She got a Happy Valentines Day from me, along with a thank you, and a have a great day. Isn’t she as deserving of my love as the next person? I also wished my co-worker a Happy Valentines Day. She too is deserving of some of my heart. If there is one thing this journey has taught me, it is how to redefine words, or terms, I have been taught in my life. It has taught me to broaden my perspective. To think, look, and feel outside the box.


Although I do love what I have carried with me for a great portion of my life, and read it often, there are things I so wish to add to it. For instance I would say love is the opening of a heart to feeling. I would say the only limits and boundaries it has are those that we individually put on it. I would say it is uncontrollable, and like the wind, blows to us, from us, past us, around us, and through us. I’ve learned you cannot grasp it or hold it, it is and always will be free. And most importantly, although it may fade, it truly never dies. It may separate and fluctuate. But, if we are open to it, it will always find its way in, and will grow stronger with time.

I wrote something twenty-five years ago today, I’d like to share with you. It is called:

My Valentines Poem 
The rose, when its red, is a symbol of love
When its yellow, a symbol of friends
When its white, its like peace, as in the flight of a dove
When one is given the smile it brings

Whatever the color, the pedals unfold
Always a sight of great beauty
For each and every eye to behold
And appreciate in the midst of life's duties

The rose, is just one of the symbols, of Valentine's Day
A day that is all about love
A day when we show those we care about them
through our smiles, our laughter, our hugs

I wish for you everyday like today
A day filled with smiles, laughter, and more
But most of all a day filled with love
Shared with friends, and those
Who make life such a joy.

by:
Laura Standrowicz
c: February 1994

So today, open your heart and let love in and out. Celebrate loves existence. If you do, I am sure, you will feel a little lighter and brighter. As I have shared with you, if you would like to share something of your own with us, please do. It matters not if it is your thoughts, feelings, a story, poem, or simply a word. We are here waiting to share. If you are not ready, that is okay. I will simply say: Happy Valentines Day!! From my open heart to yours.

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