Happy Valentine's Day!

Yes, it's that time of the year when the greeting card companies, florists, jewelry stores and candy makers try to promote the need to buy an array of things to prove your love to someone. On one hand it can be looked at with a very jaded eye. It can cause panic in young or new romances. Singles often feel a twinge of envy when they see couples together on this day.

Elizabethtown is one of my favorite movies and I love this quote from it;

"Sadness is easier because it is surrender. I say make time to dance alone with one hand waving free."

I don't find myself in any panic though today and I think it's because I have gotten to "know myself" a lot better and am quite happy with my own company. I mean, no one can value me like me. I don't feel the "need" to please anyone today or live up to what they think I should be. The other thing I've noticed is my appreciation of love other than the romantic kind. Today I'm spending a little more time appreciating the fact that I have friends who love me, a very dear brother (and family), a dear little dog whose eyes twinkle at the sight of me (and vice versa) and the fact that I've survived a lot of crumby stuff. I think these are things that come with getting older. The world becomes clearer, more simplified somehow. There's no high drama to deal with because you start seeing how very short life is.

Wishing you a very happy Valentine's Day, I'll leave you with this thought,

It is only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up, that we will begin to live each day to the fullest; as if it were the only one we had.

Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross