Love is in the Air

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Love is in the air
Everywhere I look around
Love is in the air
Every sight and every sound

Oh oh oh  oh oh oh. Great John Paul Young song. It popped in my head earlier when it seemed that, literally, everywhere I looked images of hearts, love, roses, and lovers met my eyes.

I got into my e-mail this morning and there were countless e-mails about Valentine’s Day candy, jewelry, and other lovelies. With very good reason, stores court me mightily. You know what they remind me of? Remember when Granny Clampett brewed her love potion and, in the process, made lovesick fools out of everyone in Beverly Hills? They got all sloppy-eyed and fell all over themselves trying to get to “the one” who’s love they had to have!

Department stores and online stores get all sloppy-eyed and fall all over themselves trying to get to “the one” (me) who’s money they have to have! It’s my own fault, I reciprocate over half the time.

They know I’m easy.

I have a few posts lined up for the coming days, leading up to Valentine’s Day. Naturally, these posts, articles, quotes, and book reviews all have love on their mind. But not JUST the romantic kind of love. We’ll also talk a lot about love for family members, love for others, and even love for self.

Mostly, we’ll just focus on the word, the emotion, and the power of L-O-V-E.

I’m reading a super book right now, Love For No Reason by Marci Shimoff. I’m nearly through and will have the review up by Thursday morning. Maybe even sooner – thanks to the power of coffee. A friend recently gave me a bag of great coffee beans, so my fuel tank is quite full.

The main gist of all of the articles will, however, be one of my own personal mottos or mission statements: The more things and people you love, the more love will reside in your heart. The more love you GIVE, the more love will COME back to you.

When our beautiful daughters (Emily, Brittany, and Stephany) were little girls, we always made a point of exposing them to as many different foods, music, art, places, and faces as possible. Since I home-schooled them, I felt that I needed to go above and beyond when it came to opening the world up for them.

Not only did I want them to experience and see as many things as possible, I wanted for their capacity to love to grow as wide and as deep as it possibly could. It may seem like “hippy talk” to some but when I look at what loving girls they are today, I realize I’d go back and do it all over again.

Whenever I’m out with one (or two, or all) of my daughters, I appreciate and applaud the fact that they’re filled with so much love and positive emotion. Few are their complaints and they never look down on anyone who comes into our view. They are not judgmental, sarcastic, or hardened toward life in any way.

Just what their parents were after!

My husband once told me (when our family was hunkered down and riding out one of life’s particularly nasty little storms) that he thought I was possibly the strongest person he ever knew. I sort of basked in the compliment for a few minutes but, deep down, I know the truth – I’m not strong…. but LOVE is.

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I have my share of faults (believe me, believe me) but I am, at heart, filled with love. Sometimes probably too much so. It’s been know to get me into binds.

• I love God.
• I love my family.
• I love my friends (those who give me coffee are more like family)
• I love my cats.
• I love your cats.
• I love people.
• I love coffee.
• I love chocolate.
• I love Kentucky.
• I love Christmas.
• I love Thanksgiving.
• I love Valentine’s Day.
• I love Easter.
• I love icanhascheezburger.com
• I love America.
• I love birds and birdwatching.
• I love polar bears.
• I love baseball.
• I love UK basketball.
• I love the Denver Broncos anyway.
• I love wolves.
• I love dogs.
• I love Chai Tea Lattes from Starbucks.
• I love ladybugs.
• I love really good guacamole.
• I love Lucy.
• I love green tea.
• I love cooking.
• I love eating.
• I love cupcakes.
• I love long walks.
• I love Scooby Doo.
• I love winter.
• I love spring.
• I love summer.
• I love fall.
• I love rain.
• I love thunderstorms.
• I love snow.
• I love sunshine.
• I love butterflies.
• I love trees.
• I love Patsy Cline music.
• I love Motown.
• I love kids.
• I love senior citizens.
• I love The Flintstones.
• I love Shakespeare.
• I love old movies and classic tv.
• I love The History Channel.
• I love The Discovery Channel.
• I love cranky old men.
• I love country music.
• I love rock music.
• I love peanut butter fudge.
• I love learning.
• I love everything associated with National Geographic.
• I love my home.
• I love my yard.
• I love cranky old women.
• I love sharks.
• I love Swamp Men (Not to be confused with Swamp People, the one’s who blow the gator’s brains out. I’m not about that).
• I love inspirational quotes.
• I love gum-smacking teenagers.
• I love The Biggest Loser.
• I love poetry.
• I love history.
• I love going to the Grand Ole Opry.
• I love my treadmill.
• I love Panera Bread.
• I love reading.
• I love you.
• To be continued everyday for the rest of my life….

The list goes on and on and on. You get the idea, right?  My list of “I love”s goes on two forevers – far, far, far eclipsing my list of  “I hate”s.

What does this mean in the self help arena?

I was hoping you’d ask…. because, that’s right, I love questions. 🙂

When we fill our lives, minds, and hearts with things we love, do we not make ourselves more loving individuals?  Of course we do!   Just like when we fill a pitcher with water – it becomes filled with water.  Common sense, right?

The beauty of it all is this – there are many benefits to falling in love with as many things as possible.

• When you are a loving person, your relationships are sweeter.
• When you are a loving person, people are drawn to you.
• When you are a loving person, you’re happier.
• When you are a loving person, you’re healthier.
• When you are a loving person, it’s harder to shake your world.

That last one?   Just call it the golden key.  It’s what led my husband to believe that I had superhuman strength.  Love is a very powerful, beautiful thing. It’s something that we take for granted as much as we do the air we breathe.

Of course, we couldn’t live without air, whereas I suppose we could live without love.  It’d be more like existing than living, though.  Big difference.

I hope you’ll find something within these rambling words to make you think.  That’s always my goal – to cause my reader friends to think and come up with their own answers (they’re always within you, you know).  I hope you’ll fill your life with so much love that you find it difficult NOT to smile.

Furthermore, I hope you’ll actively, proactively, and passionately look for more things to love.  Hadn’t you rather be accused of loving too much than too little?

Always look for fewer things to hate and always look for more things to love.  You know, like cookies, cheetahs, cupcakes, birds, football, baseball, books, blueberry muffins, polar bears, neck rubs, spiders (don’t judge me)….