St. Valentine's Day

Saint Valentine was a third-century Roman Christian who died on February 14. The poet Geoffrey Chaucer and his circle probably invented many of the romantic legends about Saint Valentine, in the fourteenth century. 

Valentine made by a student of mine.

After that, it became a custom for a man to write a romantic poem to send to his beloved on St. Valentine's Day. Very fancy paper cards, with lace and ribbons, became popular in the 1840's, and that custom expanded into sending cards to Mom and Dad, and friends of all kinds.

Agenda today:
1. Brainstorm generosity practices
2. Make Valentines
3. Honor my friendships

1. Brainstorm generosity practices:

When we are generous we share what we have freely - money, food, help, or time - without expectation of reward or return. We put full effort into looking after people. We are open-minded, give people the benefit of the doubt, and grant them our attention and life force. We are of service to the world. 

Generosity begins in your heart. It requires extravagant love and alertness to other’s needs. Consider your growing edge with respect to generosity: What is holding you back? How can you increase the flow of blessings in the world? You might need to push past feelings of reluctance and fear to a place where generosity is spontaneous and fun. Or you might need to get creative with generous acts that fit into your schedule.

Every month at the full moon (a little earlier this month because it's Valentine's Day!) I take some time to plan ways I can be intentionally open-hearted and open-handed in the next weeks. Queries:

-How can I be more generous of spirit in my everyday conversations and interactions?

-What do I have that I could share - money, help, or time? How can I use my natural talents to express love and care for people?

-What is my role in the world around me? How can I be of service? How can I grow?

I make a list of small generous acts I might do this month, that will challenge my growing edge - starting with myself, then my household, my family, my neighborhood, community, and the earth. I might decide to give money or a gift, or simple acts of helping and sharing my time.

Also, I imagine a time in the future when I have limitless time and resources to serve, and brainstorm a few bigger, unlikely but possible, actions I could take someday to help my community and my world. (When I look back at things on the list, I'm always surprised at how many of them I've done!)

2. Make Valentines:

I like to make fancy valentines (instructions here), but this year I teamed up with my grandson to make these. Note that since his attention span is still about 5 minutes, this was a 2-week project!

1. Day 1: We painted with red and white tempera on heavy pink paper (See here for tips on painting with a toddler.) 

2. Day 2-4: We drew with paint sticks.

3. Day 5: We played with scissors, his first exploration of this tool; mostly he used two hands to work them and made snips while I held the paper.

4. Day 6: I cut the heart shapes and he glued down the bits of paper, using a purple glue stick that dries clear. (It was like drawing with a large purple marker, and he was fascinated with the stickiness!)

3. Honor my friendships:

I seek ways to honor my bond with those essential people who love and support me, teach me and learn from me, and who help me discover my true self. I want my friendships to deepen and grow stronger. I want to take better care of my friendships with a little intentional nurturing. 

Also, I need to improve my friendship skills: How patient I am, how well I listen and communicate, how I show gratitude and care, how I mend uncomfortable feelings, keep commitments, and make time.

Today I will light a candle and say a prayer of thanks for my friendships, and send them love.