What is Love?
The dictionaries provide various definitions of Love:
An intense feeling of deep affection for someone; a great interest and pleasure in something.
What do I love?
My family, who are wonderful most of the time and maddening at others. I’m sure they feel the same way about me.
My friends who, as many have experienced, can only be seen over Zoom at present, but were there for me when my first husband died, and helped my daughter and me through a dreadful period.
Giving presents to people, carefully thought through and hoping I got it right, and receiving presents, many of which I can’t use, but smiling, saying thank you and donating to a charity shop. Love is not wanting to hurt their feelings.
My various pets over the years, despite my dog once eating one of the leather boots that I had saved up for months after recently starting work; the beautiful Siamese cats – mother and son - who would yowl in the middle of the night until we let them in because they wanted to come into our bedroom to tell us how much they loved us; my tortoises who kept escaping, the female never to return, and the male, Kevin, who came out of hibernation two days ago and is mowing down my crocuses and snowdrops as he insisted on coming out from his heat lamp to wander the garden in the sun.
The winter sun on a cold day, warming my face and giving a hint of better weather to come.
The first yellow flowers on my Hamamelis – aka Witch Hazel – that started flowering before Christmas and can still be seen through the sitting room window, followed by early daffodils, snowdrops and crocus, all heralding Spring.
Rain after a long period of dry weather, meaning I don’t have to spend hours watering our sandy soil.
All these appear to be insular, however I love to read in the media of kindness delivered by strangers to strangers. I adhere to the Random Acts of Kindness concept, and have done so from time to time. That makes me happy.
Love and happiness should go hand in hand. Done right, love towards others will result in happiness on both sides.
My friends who, as many have experienced, can only be seen over Zoom at present, but were there for me when my first husband died, and helped my daughter and me through a dreadful period.
Giving presents to people, carefully thought through and hoping I got it right, and receiving presents, many of which I can’t use, but smiling, saying thank you and donating to a charity shop. Love is not wanting to hurt their feelings.
My various pets over the years, despite my dog once eating one of the leather boots that I had saved up for months after recently starting work; the beautiful Siamese cats – mother and son - who would yowl in the middle of the night until we let them in because they wanted to come into our bedroom to tell us how much they loved us; my tortoises who kept escaping, the female never to return, and the male, Kevin, who came out of hibernation two days ago and is mowing down my crocuses and snowdrops as he insisted on coming out from his heat lamp to wander the garden in the sun.
The winter sun on a cold day, warming my face and giving a hint of better weather to come.
The first yellow flowers on my Hamamelis – aka Witch Hazel – that started flowering before Christmas and can still be seen through the sitting room window, followed by early daffodils, snowdrops and crocus, all heralding Spring.
Rain after a long period of dry weather, meaning I don’t have to spend hours watering our sandy soil.
All these appear to be insular, however I love to read in the media of kindness delivered by strangers to strangers. I adhere to the Random Acts of Kindness concept, and have done so from time to time. That makes me happy.
Love and happiness should go hand in hand. Done right, love towards others will result in happiness on both sides.
(first published during the Covid Lockdown: 26th February 2021)
2 comments:
This is a loving account Marie of your thankfulness for all the little things we do not always take time to appreciate. I am going to set myself a similar task
Yes all these are .ove and it's good to be reminded
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