Self-Love Service.

 Greetings Ladies and Gents,

I pray you are all having an amazing and encouraging start to your 2021. Over in my neck of the woods, snow has been falling since early this morning and is supposed to continue throughout the next couple of days. Part of me is happy about it since we haven't had significant snowfall for a couple years, but the other part of me is dreading the inevitable cleanup(shoveling) duty that will land right on my shoulders. Regardless, it's a beautiful sight to behold and I'm thankful to God for it! But enough about me and my snow playtime with my dog later...let's get into today's topic.

With tomorrow marking the first day of February, it's officially safe to say that Valentine's Day is right around the corner. During this time last year, I'm sure there were plenty of folks planning out where they wanted to eat and just going out on the town in general for the holiday. VDay 2021 however will be dealing with unique challenges to the celebrations of love thanks to...you guessed it...covid. Yes, there are people already in solid relationships that have been together for years. They may just spend time virtually over the phone or maybe they already live together, which is extra convenient. But for those that have been dialing back the dating scene thanks to social distancing practices, feelings may be a bit different.

One may feel that these past 11 or so months of quarantining could have been a lost opportunity to find that true love, or at least a special someone to spend 2/14 with. I get why there would be a sense of frustration there, but that doesn't mean that day has to be a complete loss. With Valentine's Day falling on a Sunday this year, I suggest that you use that whole week to show yourself some type of love and appreciation. For example, that Sunday can be the day you decide to prepare some of your favorite meals. Monday can be dedicated to making a playlist of all your favorite songs and listening back to them naturally lifting your spirits. Tuesday could be all about learning something fun that you always wanted to do but never got around to it. All of these options are opportunities for you to take time investing back in yourself and your sense of joy. 

I'm aware that just about everyone is tired of not being able to move around as freely as they're used to doing, but there's nothing beneficial that comes from complaining about it. You want to have that amazing ability to adapt to the situations around you and find your happiness within them. Try writing yourself a love letter this year. Think about it, how often do you sit back and really appreciate yourself for who you are? Many times, we listen out and wait for others to provide us with those words of affirmation, but we have to be able to give them to ourselves just as much. When you finish writing up all of those things you love about yourself, I bet you'll learn to enjoy being in your own space that much more. 

Times will get better and we will be back to doing activities out and about sooner than later. In the meantime, providing love and peace for your own spirit will do you a bunch of good. When the world is officially opened up and you're wondering where all the time went to invest in your well being, you can look back to this moment and be happy that energy was spent empowering yourself. The week of Valentine's Day 2021 is a perfect opportunity to recharge on what you love and what matters in your world. Don't waste it wondering where your boo is.