Page 17 - Sonoma County Gazette February 2020

A Message from Peacetown
It is February and LOVE is in the air.
By Jim Corbett
Just ask St. Valentine, the 3rd Century priest who secretly married couples to keep the husbands from going to war. The cards, candy and flowers came later, but it is a wonderful holiday that reminds us of the opportunity we have to love. And, it seems everyone gets swept up in the celebration of loved ones. Long married couples, newlyweds, and even school children exchange “Be My Valentine” sentiments.
It is the national holiday of my Love Choir, whose members all exchange cards as we sing our favorite love songs. But this Love thing, which we revere so much, seems to be many different things with many different feels.
Love is an exchange of energy, an appreciation of being in the world together, and an acknowledgement of that shared Being.
There is the love of nature that we experience when the view of the ocean or a mountain vista takes our breath away. There is that crazy love we share with our pets. Your dog will eagerly lap up all the affection you bestow, whereas your cat will, if you’re lucky, allow you to stroke its fur in exchange for their consent to sit on your lap.
Of course, people love is what we seem to emphasize the most, but even those relationships feel different. There is the familial love of your mate of many years that is distinctly different from the rush of love you had when you first met. The love of children is ever changing, as it moves from their total dependence on their parents, to a resentment of that dependence in their teen years, and followed by an appreciation of their upbringing by their parents. Often that appreciation comes when they have their own children, and those grandchildren become the most delightful loving relationship for grandma and grandpa.
We also have the love of our friends. With each one we have a unique relationship that vacillates between total joy and accepting them through the push and pull of personality friction. Then there are the things we love doing. I love music; I love food; I love watching sports; I love being alone; I love being the center of attention. Each of us has our own activities that we love.
Love is an opportunity to appreciate,
but we must consciously take up that opportunity.
When we realize that we are constantly loved by that Source of Energy that breathes for us every moment, we become grateful for the opportunity to love. You can silently send out love through your eyes to all that you see, and welcome love in through your eyes to your heart.
In the words of The Magic Penny song, “Love is something if you give it away, you end up having more”.
Within your beating heart is the essence of love. You are loved, loving and lovable forever. And truly, all you need is LOVE.
There’s nothing you can do that can’t be done
Nothing you can sing that can’t be sung
Nothing you can say, but you can learn how to play the game It’s easy
Nothing you can make that can’t be made
No one you can save that can’t be saved
Nothing you can do, but you can learn how to be you in time It’s easy...Love is all you need.
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