7 minutes left in the day

Valentines Day is nearly over (sigh of relief) but I thought I should close the day by showing my readers some love.  Thank you all for supporting me through the tough times and through the good times as well.  My readers, you are lovely people.  You share your precious insights with me, you keep me motivated, you show me compassion and support, you make me feel connected to the world.  You share my passion for caring for this earth, for eating locally, for eating good food, for living frugally and with meaning. You do good. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

I was thinking about giving myself a Valentines gift this year, but really the best gifts are the intangible ones.  A great gift, a great gift of love, is listening, really listening, when someone is speaking.  Not just listening to hear what you want to hear.  Not just listening while you silently plan your response. Not just looking to use the other persons’ comment as a way to justify your own beliefs.  But listening to hear what the other person is really trying to say.  It’s tougher than it sounds, especially when you’re in pain or are feeling stressed or worried yourself.  But it’s worth the effort.

This seems like it’s just a gift to the other person, but it’s not.  Whenever we fully submit ourselves to the moment and to addressing another person’s needs, when we acknowledge our sameness, our connection, we find ourselves deeply touched, deeply submerged in joy.  We may feel a sense of purpose like no other time in our lives.

I’ve been thrown a couple of curve balls this week - actually, it was just one, big, hairy , hurtful disappointment amidst an otherwise exciting, interesting time in my life.  Suffice it to say that when people let us down and hurt us, it’s easy to get distracted from what keeps us grounded.  It’s easy to get lost in our heads, to forget that others need our full attention.  In the next couple of weeks I will be bouncing around heading off to miscellaneous out-of-town conferences, conducting workshops, hosting events, all while trying to digest this recent change in my life.  But I will aim to allow myself the opportunity to sink in to the moment, even just briefly, to appreciate the stillness that is around me.

With love,