A Month of Valentines

The memory of love reaches through time and echos through eternity,
the overtones of a long-ago,
gently or raucously plucked string.

A glimpsed face,
a hint of smell,
a distant note heard,
the heart opens, warms, flourishes,
and beats once more in time with love.

Recognized by the Soul-Self,
merged,
balanced,
reflecting the loved one,
love blooms once again,
if even for only a brief moment, suffusing life with joy.
ct: 1/10/24

The great commandment from Christianity:
“Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself”
Matthew 22:37-40

How much easier it seems to love your “neighbor**” before you love yourself. While it seems so, it is not so. Quan Yin teaches us that we can truly only treat others (our neighbors) as we treat ourselves. While we may be able to overcome our own self criticism and extend kindness to others, it wears thin, is not sustainable, and carries with it an underlying energy of criticism and judgment, and comes across as being inauthentic – which it is.

**“neighbor”: From my perspective a neighbor it is every person: intimate and/or family relationships, the folks who live in your neighborhood and community, and every one who you pass by on the street and in the stores.

I have a Valentine challenge for us all.
For the next 28 days, set aside your self-judgments, self-criticisms, and self-demolition, and replace them with self-kindness, self-graciousness, and self-love.

Use one of the following re-written versions of the great commandment each week.

1. Be generous to yourself in the same way you would be generous to your neighbor.
2. Be Gracious to yourself in the same way you would be gracious to your neighbor.
3. Be Kind to yourself in the same way you would be kind to your neighbor.
4. Love yourself in the same way you would love your neighbor.

When you do, your neighbors, as well as yourself, will benefit greatly, and the world becomes your Valentine.

Blessings,

Charlotte

Edited by Monique Huenergardt of MoReadsYou.com