What is Love?
Posted by Michelle Moquin on February 14th, 2009
Is it the desire one feels in the morning wrapped up in the arms of your lover?
Is it the warm feeling one gets when cuddling with a puppy?
Is it the feeling of connectedness that you get inside when thinking of someone or even of self?
I suppose it can be all of the above and much more.
I wanted to write about love this morning and what it means to me, since it is Valentine’s Day today. But I am at a loss for words, which is surprising for me. Is ‘love’ that hard to describe? Instead of expressing my thoughts on love, I decided to share someone else’s.
It is by loving and not by being loved that one can come nearest the soul of another, yea where two love it is the loving of each other, and not the being loved by each other, that originates and perfects and ensures their blessedness.
George MacDonald, 1824-1905
I just love the meaning of those words. Having the ability to love is one of the greatest pleasures in life.
I am one who loves to be loved, but if I did not have the capacity to love, would being loved, even matter? In other words, does one need to know love, to feel love inside…to appreciate the love that is given?
I know for me, my love is not conditional on someone loving me, but I do know that when I am loved, truly loved, the gates of my love open up, and my love flows in abundance. It is the most wonderful feeling to feel the essence of who I am shine.
Enough about my thoughts. I’d love to hear your thoughts on love. And if you’re not too busy making love, blog me. Oh…and for those who had comments yesterday, I will address you tomorrow. Happy Valentine’s Day….be love and give love.
Given with love….
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: Your Bad Ass Bitch Editor
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February 14th, 2009 at 10:54 am
Although far away from you I roam
Forget you I could never,
For you have given my heart a home
and it belongs to you forever.
Anonz
February 14th, 2009 at 11:33 am
Foods that Trigger Deadly Inflammation… and the Healthy Foods to Eat Instead
Leo Galland, MD
Foundation for Integrated Medicine
Most of us associate inflammation with the redness, pain, heat and swelling that accompany an injury or infection. This is part of the normal healing process. However, when the inflammatory process fails to turn itself off when it should, inflammation becomes chronic — and potentially quite damaging.
Chronic inflammation (CI) works slowly and silently at the cellular level. One cause: Poor diet. This may trigger inflammation, which can impair immunity and contribute to artery damage and insulin resistance (the inability of the body’s cells to effectively use the hormone insulin to regulate blood sugar levels). These factors may increase the risk for heart disease, stroke, diabetes, osteoporosis, cancer and arthritis.
Despite these dangers, many people with CI go undiagnosed, in part because the symptoms are vague. Many doctors, not yet fully aware of CI, might not suspect inflammation. Only a blood test can confirm its presence. The best is the high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) screening test, which detects levels of CRP, a marker for inflammation in the bloodstream. Health insurance often covers the cost.
WHAT NOT TO EAT
Avoid these common inflammation-producing foods…
Trans fats. Trans fats are created by adding hydrogen to vegetable oil (a process called hydrogenation). Consuming trans fats may damage cells that line blood vessels, causing inflammation.
To do: Check labels and avoid foods with hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (or aliases, such as shortening or margarine). Most commercial baked goods, such as cookies and crackers, and many fried foods have trans fats.
Omega-6 fatty acids. Needed for good health, omega-6s are found naturally in meats, poultry, shellfish, milk, eggs, vegetable oils and some seeds. They are harmful only when eaten out of proportion to omega-3s, another essential fatty acid. A good ratio of omega-6s to omega-3s is three to one. The typical American diet has a ratio of up to 20 to one — which allows omega-6s to crowd out omega-3s, changing the body’s metabolic processes and creating inflammatory chemicals.
To do: Boost your intake of foods rich in omega-3s (see below).
Processed sugar. Table sugar, candy, soft drinks and other sweets contribute to insulin resistance and extra pounds, both of which increase inflammation.
To do: Satisfy your sweet tooth with a wide variety of fruits. Note: If you have diabetes, talk to your doctor before increasing fruit intake.
INFLAMMATION FIGHTERS
Work these into your diet…
Flavonoids. These natural antioxidants (nutrients that neutralize harmful molecules called free radicals) inhibit inflammatory enzymes. They are prevalent in foods whose natural pigments give them a deep yellow to deep purple color — primarily fruits and vegetables.
To do: Aim for nine daily servings of intensely colored fruits and veggies a day, such as plums, eggplant (with skin) and red onions. Add unsweetened concentrated fruit juices (blueberry, pomegranate) to salad dressings and marinades.
Carotenoids. These antioxidants are found primarily in produce that is yellow, orange or red. Particularly beneficial are carrots and tomatoes. Some green vegetables, such as spinach and broccoli, also are rich in carotenoids.
To do: Use a bit of olive oil or walnut oil to make salad dressing or saut� vegetables. The oil improves absorption of carotenoids by the intestine.
Omega-3s. These fatty acids contain a potent inflammation-fighting component called eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). Omega-3s are found in flaxseeds and flaxseed oil, walnuts, navy and kidney beans and leafy green vegetables. Fish is an excellent source, too.
To do: Increase your intake of the omega-3-rich foods above. Also, eat at least 12 ounces of fish a week, choosing types rich in omega-3s and relatively low in mercury — anchovies, conch, herring (fresh or pickled, not creamed), mackerel, salmon, sardines and sturgeon.
Fiber. The more dietary fiber a person consumes, the lower her CRP levels tend to be. Best sources include beans, whole grains and vegetables.
To do: Go beyond your typical high-fiber favorites and try something new — whole-wheat pasta, bulgur (a grain), Swiss chard, yams.
Herbs and spices. Garlic, onions, chives, ginger, turmeric, basil, parsley and cinnamon enhance the flavor of foods and also have anti-inflammatory properties.
To do: Use herbs and spices daily. Healthful combination: Turmeric (a good source of flavonoids) plus black pepper, which increases turmeric’s absorption.
Bottom Line/Women’s Health interviewed Leo Galland, MD, an internationally known expert in nutritional medicine. He is director of the Foundation for Integrated Medicine in New York City and author of three books, including The Fat Resistance Diet (Broadway). http://www.fatresistancediet.com. Dr. Galland is a member of the Bottom Line/Women’s Health advisory board.
February 14th, 2009 at 2:50 pm
I hope you will accept this poem of woo
Though poetry is not my forte
I wrote it to say I love you
because this is Valentine’s Day.
Wow, the most beautiful woman in the world.
You are so cool and so eloquent.
I want everyone to know that you’re my girl.
Sure that may be vanity, but it is meant as a sincere compliment.
Your Hair is radiant.
Your Eyes are illuminated like precious jewels.
Your Mind is brilliant.
Your Walk turns men into drooling fools.
Your Hands are tender and so sensuous.
Your Body is so fine, so very, very fine.
Your Lips are sweet and so voluptuous.
Is it any wonder that you blow my mind?
The stars may fall, the sun decay,
The earth itself may cease to be
But my love for you will never sway,
For my heart belongs to thee.
Name the day sweet Valentine,
when your heart and soul will make you mine.
February 14th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
I have been trying to get in since 11AM, no luck. I refuse to enter my poem under the name of Anonz. What’s the deal; did his money buy up the space for today? I will keep trying when I have the time.
The stars may fall, the sun deacy,
The earth’s whole fabric waver,
But firm as heaven my love shall stay,
Unquenched, unceasing never.
Robert
February 14th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
What is happening My poem changed? This is some freaky shit.
Accept this message My Beloved I pray
It comes from me who loves you this Valentine’s Day.
It it changes again, I’m getting a lawyer.
Robett
February 15th, 2009 at 8:45 am
Although, late but within the blog entry for Valentines Day, I wrote this for the card I made for you, and thought I would put it in here as well.
Can We Dance
(c)copyright 2009 Doug Boggs
Visions enter my thoughts at random
the stillness fades with a wild abandon
you sense my touch as you touch my senses
without a word begins the caress
The heat of your breath brings a rise
to a moment that will go by
and become a treasure of thought
and a trove of feeling
as you leave my heart reeling
Can we dance in the moonlight
Can we dance to the dawn
with the music of our feelings
to carry the night on
through seconds of yearning
through minutes and moments
through hours of loving
through years of holding
The life and love of you
Nice night, my babe.
February 15th, 2009 at 9:30 am
Jack Canfield’s Seven Principles of Success and Happiness
Jack Canfield
Jack Canfield has made the study of success in one’s personal and professional lives his own life’s work. He has interviewed hundreds of successful people, read more than 3,000 books on success and given thousands of lectures on the topic. Now Canfield has boiled down everything that he has learned about success into his new book, The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be (Harper). Some of those principles, such as the importance of goal setting, are well-known. Others are just as crucial but not commonly understood.
Here, Canfield reveals the principles of success that are most often overlooked.
Develop four new good habits each year. Most of everything we do is based on ritual. We eat at certain restaurants… wear certain clothes… brush our teeth in a certain way… and watch certain TV shows simply because that is what we have always done. These are our habits, and we perform them without really thinking.
The trouble with habits is that they preserve the status quo, making dramatic improvement unlikely. If we want more out of life, we must be willing to evaluate and replace some of our rituals with more productive ones.
Example: Instead of spending the hour after dinner watching TV, go for a brisk walk… study a second language… read a book… or make the extra sales calls that you need to advance your career.
It takes a minimum of 25 days for the brain to build the neural links required to make a new behavior a habit. I suggest practicing a new habit for three months to ensure that it sinks in. Once it becomes second nature, add another new habit. At three months per habit, there’s time to add four each year. In five years, you will have 20 new habits that will help fuel your success.
Practice appreciation. Studies of employee motivation inevitably find that feeling appreciated is the single greatest motivator in the workplace, even ahead of higher wages. Yet many people fail to put the power of appreciation to full use in their business and personal lives.
When you show people that you appreciate them, you not only make them feel better, you make yourself more successful. People are more likely to help you achieve your goals if they believe that you appreciate their efforts. There’s no downside — appreciation costs nothing, and no one has ever complained about being over-appreciated.
Helpful: I used to carry in my pocket an index card with 10 circles on it. Every time I let someone know that I appreciated him/her, I filled in one of the circles. If at the end of the day I hadn’t filled in all 10, I sent out appreciative E-mails. After a few months, showing appreciation became second nature for me, and I no longer had to carry the cards. I haven’t had anyone leave my nine-employee company in more than five years. I attribute a big part of that loyalty to everyone feeling appreciated.
Solicit and respect feedback. Rather than guess how you’re doing, ask. Periodically ask employees, employers, customers and loved ones to rate your performance on a scale of one to 10. If the answer is anything less than 10, ask, “What would it take to make it a 10?”
If you follow this strategy, you’re encouraging people to help you become great. The main reason that people don’t solicit feedback is because they’re afraid of what they might hear — but the information we can obtain is worth facing such fears.
Not all feedback is accurate, but watch for patterns and never get angry at the source, even if you disagree.
Keep all of your agreements. When you break an agreement, the person you let down loses faith in you and is less likely to want to work with you in the future. Even more important, you lose some faith in yourself. It’s all but impossible to become a success if you don’t have faith in yourself.
To avoid breaking agreements, teach yourself to say no to things that you would rather not do. Then you won’t have to back out later. Write down everything you agree to do on your calendar as soon as a commitment is made — you would be surprised by how many people don’t do this.
If you must break an agreement, let the other parties involved know as soon as possible, and do everything in your power to fix any problems that the broken agreement creates for them.
Exceed expectations. Don’t ask yourself, How can I get a little more out of this situation? Instead, ask, How can I give a little more to those around me? Sacrificing usually isn’t a sacrifice — it’s a path to success. If you consistently go the extra mile for clients, colleagues, employers, family and friends, you’ll earn their loyalty for life.
Example: When UPS went on strike, David Morris, the owner of Dillanos, a small, Seattle-based coffee roasting company, rented a truck and drove 2,320 miles to deliver an order to a small client in Southern California. That client, It’s a Grind Coffee House, is now a large franchise with 50 stores and an additional 100 planned. It is Dillanos’s largest customer and has remained loyal to Dillanos because of the extra effort Morris put in years ago.
Reject rejection. Rejection does not prevent success — fear of rejection does. What stops a man from asking an attractive woman out on a date? What stops an inexperienced salesman from asking the most successful salesman at his firm for advice? They’re afraid of rejection — afraid that if they ask, the answer might be no. But there’s absolutely no rational reason to fear rejection.
Example: You ask a successful person to give you career advice, and he says no. You didn’t have his advice before you asked, and you don’t have his advice after. You’re no worse off than when you began, so why be afraid of asking?
If you want to be a success, you must treat rejection as an illusion — a negative response conjured up by your mind that really doesn’t exist.
Eliminate small obstacles. Make a list of the problems that you would like to remove from your life — include even minor things, such as a lamp that doesn’t work right. Schedule a day or two to fix as many of these problems as you can, starting with the easiest to solve.
In this way, you’ll get into the habit of thinking, I know what I want, I know how to get it. Once you’re in this mindset, you’ll stop resigning yourself to your current situation and start making larger positive changes as well.
Bottom Line/Personal interviewed Jack Canfield, motivational speaker and cocreator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, which has sold more than 80 million books. He is CEO of Chicken Soup for the Soul Enterprises, a publishing and training company in Santa Barbara, California. http://www.jackcanfield.com His most recent book is The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be. (Harper).