Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day! Today is a day to celebrate love in all its forms. The Fruit of the Spirit for the week is generosity. As I notice those two words side-by-side, LOVE and GENEROSITY, I am reminded of a poem by Rumi:

Love is reckless; not reason.

Reason seeks a profit.

Love comes on strong, consuming herself, unabashed.

Yet, in the midst of suffering,

Love proceeds like a millstone,

hard surfaced and straightforward.

Having died of self-interest,

she risks everything and asks for nothing.

Love gambles away every gift God bestows.

Without cause God gave us Being;

without cause, give it back again.

Like most poems, this one could mean so many different things. Today, I'm taking away from it an invitation to love bigger, deeper, more completely. If our hearts are open, we can take the risks love asks of us.

What loving thing can you do for yourself or someone else today?