Dear Friends,

Will you be my Valentine? As a little girl we would decorate shoe boxes with construction paper and spend hours cutting out hearts which we’d slather with white paste and glitter. Over red Kool-Aid and sugar cookies with multi-colored sprinkles we’d examine our haul of hearts in all shapes and sizes. This is the month of hearts, as we all know, but February is cause for celebration of so many other occasions. For instance, you may know it is Black History Month which is especially significant this year with our new president, but did you know it is also American Heart Month, Mend a Broken Heart Month, Parent Leadership Month, Plant the Seeds of Greatness Month, Relationship Wellness Month, Senior Independence Month, Sweet Potato Month, Youth Leadership Month, Return Shopping Carts to the Supermarket Month, and (my personal favorite) Spunky Old Broads Month?

There is a theme here—hearts. Hearts wide open with affection. Hearts in need of mending, both physically and emotionally. Hearts swelling with pride. Hearts seeking compassion. Hearts in search of kindred spirits. With the media focusing so much on what is wrong in the world, and at the risk of sounding like one of those Spunky Old Broads we are celebrating this month, I’d like to invite all of us to open up our hearts and concentrate on someone who is right and beautiful and deserves our joyful appreciation. Someone who deserves to be treated in a special way whom we may have been taking for granted lately?  Who could that person be? Why YOU, of course! Romance yourself by taking the time for self-care:  a bubble bath instead of a shower, a manicure with pretty polish instead of a functional clear coat, 15 minutes alone in the morning with a cup of something delicious and time to prepare yourself for the day ahead, or 15 minutes spent admiring a sunset instead of immediately jumping up from the dinner table to do the dishes. Making time for ourselves is something I suggested last month (are you remembering put yourself on the list?), but it’s such an important message I’m going to repeat it. Self-care impacts not only your body, but your mind and spirit as well. Taking the time to take care of yourself benefits everyone around you.

Wishing you a Simple Abundant Life with our hearts wide open!

Be well,

Mary

One Response to “Living a Simple Abundant Llife – February 2009”