It is easy to lose sight of love in the world when we see the evidence of hate every time we read the news. Love stories don’t often make headlines, and accounts of crime, inequality and despair wear on us over time and start to make us doubt the good in other people.
This week of Valentine’s Day, take time to step back and appreciate the moments of love and beauty in your everyday life.
For the Love of Journal Writing
1. In this Valentine’s Day journaling exercise, pretend that you are a writer researching a story on the theme of love. Since love is such a broad topic, begin with your own personal observations and experiences. Spend the next day or two paying attention to large and small expressions of love, compassion or consideration in your family, your circle of friends, your workplace and even among strangers (through subtle people-watching and eavesdropping). In your personal journal, keep a list of the moments you witness, along with any notes you want to remember; for example:
• My daughter helping her little brother build a castle out of blocks, even though she thinks she’s too old for this kind of play
• The older couple at the table across the restaurant, laughing and holding hands (I want to be like that one day!)
• The employee at a busy drugstore who took time to show lost tourists how to find their way back to their hotel (even digging up an old map for them to have)
• My officemates organizing a schedule to cook meals for a co-worker who recently lost her mother
2. Once you have put a good list together, find a quiet spot to reread your entries and write about the experience in your personal journal. Which moments made the biggest impression on you? Did any surprise you or change your perspective on something or someone? Which observations affected you the most emotionally? Did any inspire you to make changes or take action in your own life? Tell your journal everything!
Happy Valentine’s Day! Share one (or many) of your lovely anecdotes on love in the comments.
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