I wished a good friend of mine a Happy Valentine’s Day this morning, but she kind of dodged it saying, “But I don’t have a Valentine” . . . just the platform for me to launch into my rendition of ‘what Valentine’s Day means to me”.

It’s not about having a Valentine, I assured her; it’s about spreading love. Wherever . . . whenever . . . however. Get creative. What a rare opportunity to get out the love potion, wanding and wafting it all over town like a sort of latter day cupid! Our world has never been more in need of this magic.

It might be wise to begin with oneself though. If we don’t love our self, it’s difficult, if not impossible, to love another.  And to love our self, we must learn to silence that brutal inner critic,  noticing when it attacks. I have been catching my own lately and then saying silently, “Would you say that to a best friend?” Surprising how quickly it cancels the sentiment.

Self-compassion, I once read, is a combination of mindfulness, common humanity and self-kindness. Try affirmations like: I am enough. I am full of peace and serenity. Love is what I am made of.

It’s true. Love IS what we are made of. What a tragedy that it gets so buried and caged under all the trivia and drama,


In her best seller, A Return to Love, Maryanne Williamson writes:
Love is the essential reality and our purpose on Earth. To be consciously aware of it, to experience it in ourselves and others, is the meaning of life. Meaning does not lie in things. Meaning lies in us.

I could go on and on about love; it’s just about my favourite topic. But instead I will wrap this up with a poem sent to me by a friend – his poem – that echoes my own sentiments so purely that it took away my breath when I read it.

Here it is. Savour it.


                                                            LOVE PERMITTED

                                                                 Love,
                                                                 Love yourself
                                                                              into loving,
                                                                 Wrap yourself
                                                                                  in love.
                                                                  Share your comforting
                                                                                blanket of love.

                                                                  Let your love
                                                                  Surround you,
                                                                  Being a centre
                                                                  Of your life,
                                                                  And you find
                                                                  As you travel
                                                                  Your empowering love
                                                                  Goes before you,
                                                                   Leads you,
                                                                   Follows you,
                                                                   Becomes you.

                                                                   You are sowing love,
                                                                    To g row 
                                                                   With promise
                                                                   For all.

                                                                   Love surrounds.
                                                                   Voyage on.
                                                                   It is permitted.

                                                                                   - Ted Browne