We are all in this together

I saw Liam Neeson on The View yesterday and of course they talked about the many movies he has been in. One is Love Actually and it is a favorite Christmas movie of mine. I remember the first time seeing it thinking it was maybe a little corny but I loved it anyway. Who doesn’t like the idea that there is actually love around us all the time…even at times when it’s not evident and we have to look for it.

Although the movie is a Christmas one, it’s message is a good one for all year long. Then I thought of Valentine’s Day which I know many believe was conjured up by Hallmark and a totally commercial holiday (this may be true…I never looked it up.) It certainly is a more welcomed holiday depending on your romantic situation. Maybe 10 or 12 years ago, a friend of mine and I decided that regardless of our situations, we were going to make the entire month of February about beauty and love. We would try to find instances of love every day and surround ourselves with beauty. For me, this included having pink and red things all around me, red hearts everywhere…one year I literally painted a wall-sized red and pink heart on the wall behind my bed…and it stayed there for several years! Pink sweaters, pink and red and white flowers and lots of red candles. Whatever looked most beautiful to me — in shades of pink and red.

I try to remember this each February and put the ideas into action to varying degrees. This year I bought a new bright pink sweater, I have red candles lit, I have several bouquets of pink and red and white flowers all around and I’m using red napkins (from Christmas) to name a few.

I realize as I’m writing this that while I’m trying to notice acts of love each day this month, somewhere along the line, more than that, I have turned the month of February into a month of … beauty actually.