The Season of Love

I’m not a big fan of winter. There, I said it. I usually find the weeks after Christmas and New Year’s Eve and before Valentine’s Day bleak and kind of a letdown after the fun and activity of the holidays. It’s cold and barren where I live. The lengthening days are only barely perceptible, and springtime feels far away. But that dull feeling of the winter blahs changed when I met my husband almost 20 years ago. His late January birthday gives me something to look forward to after Christmas, something to plan for. In fact, I look forward to it more than he does. It’s more than finding the perfect present or baking his favorite cake. It’s the same thing that makes the Christmas season so joyful. Amid the busyness and colorful decorations and seasonal music, I am once again immersed in the joy of giving, which is, of course, a way of sharing love.

The Seasons of Life

That realization helped me make a leap in understanding. Just as the seasons around us change, so, too, do the seasons of our lives. In everyone’s life there are times of joy and ease and times of hardship and struggle. Those times especially can feel like an emotional winter—bleak, cold, and monotonous.

But we can make a choice to help us through those times. We can turn to the depths of the love and kindness within us and share them generously. We don’t need to wait for a loved one’s birthday or any other special occasion. Even the smallest and most spontaneous acts of compassion and generosity can make a difference in someone’s life.

Mostly though, these acts can make a difference for us. In the winter seasons of life, our harder moments and lower moods tend to feed on themselves, blocking out our awareness of the good that surrounds us, the blessings in our lives. There may be no better way to hasten the arrival of a warmer, sunnier season than to invite it through our own attitudes and actions.

Chances are, you’re finding signs all around you that Valentine’s Day is coming. Cupids, greeting cards, flowers, chocolates—all the things that make it fun. At the heart of it all (pun intended) is love. I invite you to enjoy the coming holiday and to keep the spirit of the occasion going after the holiday is over. Look for ways to share yourself, make connections, and give of yourself—your time, your attention, the gifts that are uniquely yours to give—and feel a fresh, new season of sun and warmth dawn within you.

As you do this, you will realize the conditions that surround you are no match for the ones that bloom within you. You will discover that when love alght in your heart, you will find an eternal springtime in your soul.

This was a Daily Word editor’s letter. To subscribe to Daily Word, please visit https://shop.unityonline.org/subscribe.