by Ed Trainor
With Valentine’s Day in the middle, February is a month where the focus is love (and the Super Bowl). We give cards and gifts to those we love. Feb. 14, 273 A.D., is believed to be the date St. Valentine was executed. This is for defying the emperor’s orders and secretly marrying couples to spare the husband from going to war. One legend has him signing a letter “from your Valentine” to his jailer’s daughter, whom he had befriended and healed from blindness.
Loving others is a necessity and can be a challenge. Sometimes, we love others not for who they are but for who we want them to be. This can be children, mates, or friends. This can bring on anger when they don’t act as we wish to. Two things are important in dealing with tense situations: (1) Words. Don’t attack the other person. Focus on the issue. (2) Tone of voice. It should be calm, not loud or angry.
Love’s greater challenge can be to follow the teaching of Jesus to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” We usually hate these people. Hatred weakens our energy field and is harder on us than it is on them. It’s like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die. Love and hate cannot both occupy the same mind at the same time. Loving our enemies is achieved by first excluding every negative thought about them. This is the preparation for love, and it all takes place in our minds. Love can be a challenge, and we are the beneficiaries.
Love to all, Ed
Ed Trainor, Ed is an avid reader of the Guide; you can reach him at mred48126@yahoo.com
