Daily Dose of Love

“You must have a room or a certain hour of the day…a place where you can simply experience and bring forth what you are, and what you might be…At first you may find nothing’s happening…But if you have a sacred place and use it, take advantage of it, something will happen.” Joseph Campbell

I have this routine I do every morning. I get my coffee, light a few candles, turn on my Marina Raye flute CD, put a blue fuzzy blankie over my legs and sit on a love seat looking out on the flowers in my back yard and start the day just “being.” After awhile I read the daily passage out of my favorite spiritual magazines: Science of Mind, Daily Word, and Alan Cohen’s book “A Deep Breath Of Life.” I write in my journal, I list my gratitude’s and claim my word for the day. The best part of this whole routine takes place about 5 minutes in…. my cat Mookie will jump up for his morning dose of daily love. Normally Mookie can be a typical cat: standoffish, no picking up and cuddling, no endlessly petting – he has other things to do. But for some reason, in the morning he can’t get enough. He purrs, he drools, he kneads his paws into the fluffy blanket, and he is a big love sponge. A few minutes later, my other cat, Mau Mau, will be feeling the need for love, whereby Mookie jumps down in deference to her, and then she gets on my lap for her morning love routine. Sometimes it has been a big kitty love sandwich with the two cats on either side of me purring away. This doesn’t happen at any other time, or anywhere else in the house…just in the morning, just on the loveseat, just with me, just the three of us giving each other healing love to start the day.

I didn’t think that much about our daily routine until my husband told me that whenever I leave to go on the road for a few days he notices that the cats will get snippy with each other. Oh sure they love to play, but there is an aggressive quality and roughness to their interactions when they have not gotten their daily doses of love. I started thinking about what I am like when I have not had my morning daily routine and how it plays out in my life. I noticed when I didn’t get to do one, or any, of the things that I would consider my “love dose” I am just like my cats – impatient, tired, snippy, prone to seeing the problems rather than the good.

So I wrote a prescription to myself:

My Daily Dose of Love for Self-Care, Happiness, and Vitality:
(Choose at least one every day)

Morning spiritual practice: reading, journal, and stillness
Swimming
Time with hubby and friends
Walking in nature
Being creative, songwriting
Being in service: giving to someone

What is your Daily Dose and are you giving that to yourself?

In this month of love, let’s look at our Daily Doses and see how we’re doing. Are you needing more? If so, think about picking one thing that might be a stretch to do but will make all the difference to your self-care and happiness.

Happy Valentines Day to YOU!