All about love

As Valentines Day approaches I wanted to reflect on the meaning of love and some of my current thoughts about it. I will also wrap up this post by sharing with you some fun ideas about how you can celebrate Valentines Day!

I personally love a good holiday and the excuse it provides to decorate, make special foods and celebrate with loved ones however, I have evolved my views on holidays and recognize that they can also often place unnecessary stress and expectations on family and other relationships. That's why I've personally worked on my own heart posture over the past few years and really focused on reframing my expectations when it comes to celebrating any holiday, and that includes Valentines Day. Of course I still celebrate but the meaning behind my celebration has changed.

When I was contemplating what I wanted to share with you all in this blog my mind instantly went to the famous biblical verse often recited at weddings- 1 corinthians 13 4-8. The most famous version of the bible is represented in more modern translations.

4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.

The passage here is all about describing the characteristics of love, inevitably. I however, don't have this more modern version of the bible. Mine is written in KJV so when I flipped through it to look up 1 corinthians 13, I found something completely different! Here it says:

4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;

6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;

7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

The key difference is the idea and concept of Charity as Love. Now, I don't think one translation is better than another, but I do believe that the KJV version offers a deeper meaning behind the truest meaning of love or, of Supreme Love as it were. When we think of charity, we are acting in service to others without the expectation of anything in return. Charity offers a sort of sacrifice, we must give something of ourselves without a return. My quest to understand this more deeply lead me to Anthroposophy and the writings of Rudolf Steiner Love And It's Meaning In The World.

In this article he describes love as being the ultimate giver, and offers a perspective of God's love as being symbolically represented as that of the sun's rays which gives up its light unto the earth. Without it, all life would cease to exist. He also bridges this with the idea of sacrifice and the ultimate sacrifice of Christs witnessed in the Mystery of Golgatha. I recommend you check out the article if you feel so inclined.

I liked how these verses and articles helped to emphasize the quality of love as being in line with acts of service, or sacrifice where we can lay ourselves down for those we love. And so I ask you, instead of laying down expectations of how you would like to be served and honoured this Valentine's Day, how would you like to serve? What acts of charity will you perform? How will this strengthen your concepts of love and build your heart posture?

These acts of love don't need to be extravagant, they can be humble so long as your heart is fully involved in the process of giving. As you ponder these questions I'd like to share so ideas of fun ways to celebrate this Valentines day and offer you what I have planned for my honey this year.

Fun Date Ideas:

• Make dinner for the two of you

• Have a homemade pasta night & try out my Pasta Making Workshop!

• His Needs Her Needs -Participants Guide: His needs her needs is a fabulous book which the author offers a participation guide for couples to answer questions regarding specific topics laid out in the book.

• Find out each others Love Language: https://5lovelanguages.com/quizzes/love-language

• Participate in a Cacao Heart Opening Ceremony

• Give each other massages

The Menu:

I like to show my love through cooking. This Valentines Day, I will be preparing a romantic dinner for two. Here's what I will be making!

I'll be starting off our dinner with a handmade cacao drink which can be found in my Divine Feminine Recipe Book. This will be made of raw cacao nibs in their purest form and only lightly sweetened. The drink is actually quite bitter and very different then what you may expect from a sweeter hot cocoa drink. Cacao is often recognized in Mexican traditions as a heart opener. The Aztecs used cacao in heart opening ceremonies because they recognized the cacao beans ability to open the heart chakra to the energies of the Divine. They also referred to the cacao bean as being a gift from the Gods and viewed it as part of the blood of the Earth, hence its affinity towards the heart. Looking at this more objectively, cacao is loaded with flavonoids, magnesium, potassium and iron. This makes cacao a perfect love cocktail with its ability to lower blood pressure, reduce inflammation and the risks heart disease. It's also know as an aphrodisiac in the world of herbal medicine!

Next up, we will share a simple charcuterie board dressed with fresh cheese, homemade cured meats (something we have been learning to do together) and fresh fruits. I am thinking of rose shaped strawberries decorated throughout.

Pasta will be our main course this Valentines Day. I'll be featuring a homemade herb & ricotta Ravioli with a side of asparagus and steak. We will enjoy this dish with a glass of Organic red wine.

Dessert will wrap up the evening. I'll be making us a gorgeous red velvet layer cake. Yum yum!

The most important thing to remember, whatever it is you choose to make or do this holiday, make sure that your heart is at the forefront of it all and you will be blessed with love.

Love & Light from my heart to yours,

Renelle B