For the love which from our birth….

78 Replies

I am thinking about love…..and our expression of it.  I am thinking about Bishop Valentine before he became Saint; about Saint Valentine before he became Valentine. I am thinking about who he was,  or  who they were , and what they may  have become….the dream sales team for the business of Valentine’s Day?  🙂  But, mostly, I am thinking of love.

Not romantic love so much as the love which is extolled in  the hymn, For the Beauty of the Earth;

“The love which from our birth over and around us lies“….the “human love of brother, sister, parent, child”….the love from “friends on earth and friends, above“, the love that comes from “gentle thoughts and mild”.

And I am thinking of how that love finds its form in the most unexpected places,

Unexpected loving thoughts

Unexpected loving thoughts

where, for the most part, it sits in quiet, patient, unobtrusive abundance,

Heart on paper
Heart container
Heart rug
Heart of my laundry
Foundation Heart
Hearts on a mug
Heart of the mat
Heart of the house

waiting to support us, when called upon,

and ever willing to send us gentle, trans-formative love letters ~

“You do not need to know precisely what is happening, or exactly where it is all going. What you need is to recognize the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment, and to embrace them with courage, faith and hope.” Thomas Merton

love letters that help us to see that the loving heart, contained within,

can be released and applied, like nature’s salve, to heal the  woe of the broken landscape.

Bindweed holding it all together

Bindweed holding it all together; making the most of the possibilities

© silkannthreades

Dear Friends

In my previous post, on Joy and Woe,  your loving, supportive, compassionate comments brought me tears, laughter and a huge amount of joy. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. This post is my Valentine’s love letter to you all.

The Blessings of Saint Valentine (whoever he may be!), chocolate, flowers , gentle thoughts and mild, and love, be with you all.

Gallivanta.

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78 thoughts on “For the love which from our birth….”

      1. pleisbilongtumi

        Not at all in my area but I saw on TV, Bandung is the nearest city from here (70 miles) had been covered up with soft thin ash yesterday. The distance from the volcano to here is approximately …..umm …700 miles.

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        6. pleisbilongtumi

          Oh I smell the volcano ash early in the morning today and saw a very very thin layers on my car but I am not sure if those were the volcanic ash from Kelud or was it just dust from everywhere.

  4. Tiny

    Thank you for a beautiful letter and smiles! I’m just now catching up on my favorite friends’ writings. Just came from eye dr (vet)and Bumble’s eye is finally healing! So happy on V-day 🙂

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  5. ordinarygood

    Thank your for my first ever Valentine’s Day letter. The hype around the day was not part of my life for many years and I dislike the commercial focus we are bombarded with but no one can argue against love.
    Those rubbish collectors deserve love as they collect stinky rubbish that has sat for 2 weeks in the heat of summer.
    Love and loveliness back to you!

    Reply ↓
    1. Gallivanta Post author

      Thank you 🙂 Rubbish collectors deserve a great deal of love. When I was young, and when I lived abroad as an adult, the rubbish collectors were always given tips once a year, at Christmas time. Not sure about the milkman or the breadman (always men!) ,but definitely the rubbish collectors (sometimes women and children) . Valentine’s Day wasn’t really part of my life either until my children attended International Schools. I used to be very against the Day, but ,now, I think it’s fine if it brings our attention to being loving and caring. And I like to think that our love of chocolate and flowers, and each other, may be helping Fair Trade cocoa and rose growers in places like Ecuador. Always two sides to a coin 😉

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      1. ordinarygood

        I applaud a broader view of love being celebrated. Our vet posted something about loving our animal friends today:-) I like your view of the coin. Did you hear the e e cumming’s poem the man shared on The Panel this afternoon? It was a wonderful piece.

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  7. Ralph

    Happy Valentine’s Day my friend 😀

    As it is a day of love:

    I LOVE CHRISTCHURCH’S RUBBISH !! ………… or maybe not 😉 hehe

    Big hugs. Ralph xox 😀

    Reply ↓
        1. Gallivanta Post author

          Definitely! Especially as it is the day for the RED rubbish bins which contain all the stinky unpleasant rubbish which can’t be recycled or composted. It’s like a breath of fresh air having that removed! It is only collected every 2 weeks.

        3. Gallivanta Post author

          It is supposed to be a strategy to make us think more carefully about our waste. Green (compostable) waste is collected every week. Red waste (landfill) every 2 weeks and Yellow (recyclable) waste every 2 weeks.

  8. Clanmother

    A true joy to read and experience. You have an extraordinary ability to bring together thoughts, photos, music, food and nature to inspire all of our senses. Happy Valentine’s Day!

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  9. violetski

    Ah, lovely, beautiful post Gallivanta! Many beautiful thoughts about true love❤️❤️❤️
    Happy Valentine day, dear Gallivanta❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

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    1. Gallivanta Post author

      Thanks for the link, Juliet. It’s a very worthy cause. Their video caught my attention on TV last night. You probably saw the Heart Foundation image in my photos. I love their recipe books.

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  11. dadirri7

    such a joy and a salve to listen to that hymn of praise whilst perusing the hearts you collected for us, thank you dear Gallivanta 🙂 ❤ much love to you from this heart ❤

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    1. Gallivanta Post author

      Thank you for your loving heart. I was surprised to find so many hearts around the house. It took me awhile to see them and, then, I couldn’t stop seeing them everywhere 😀 I love that John Rutter version of the hymn. It is so uplifting. But it was surprisingly hard to find a good recording on youtube.

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    1. Gallivanta Post author

      Bindweed, (the invasive kind), is hated by gardeners. It’s garden enemy-weed number one for most of us. Yet it has beauty, and it has purpose, and is quick to cover the scars of the earth. Valentine kisses xxx

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  15. womanseyeview

    And happy valentines day to you too – in the warm non-commercial sense you expressed it…although dark chocolate would be okay. And you don’t have to be religious to enjoy the glorious hymn you shared. Thank you.

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    1. Gallivanta Post author

      And that is why I so love that hymn; because it can be enjoyed, with or without religion. John Rutter’s arrangements and compositions are full of deep satisfying spirituality. I love this clip about the music he wrote for the Royal Wedding of Kate and William He says “Music goes beyond words..”

      Reply ↓
  17. Mrs. P

    What a lovey Valentine post with even lovelier sentiments! I am glad we were able to left your spirits…my job as your friend has been successful! 🙂

    I especially loved your grandmother’s bible and all the heart shaped leaves in your garden…you might say it is a garden of love!

    Reply ↓
    1. Gallivanta Post author

      Mrs P you are making me smile …..a garden of love; much nicer to see it that way than a garden of weeds and neglect. 🙂 My great grandmother’s Bible was given in to my care in 2009. The idea is that in 2 years time I will be able to wish it a Happy 150th Birthday! The Bible is not in good condition. It has been well-used, but I love that it has lived a life of purpose.

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      1. Mrs. P

        I love the fact that it has been well used. I had heard about my great aunt’s bible. When I finally got to see it, I was disappointed because it apparently was given to her as a wedding gift and noted her wedding day and there was nothing else. No passages mark, nothing. This one was VERY large and too big to use daily. A big disappointment. I want to see her REAL bible! Yours must tell a lot about your great grandmother!

        Reply ↓
        1. Gallivanta Post author

          So far I haven’t found any marked passages or important dates…..but it obviously didn’t sit on a bookshelf. It’s got stains and loose binding and rough edges. It looks as though it has been places, like outdoors or even at the kitchen table. Perhaps she used it and then let her children use it. Anyway, I didn’t know it existed till 2009 and I am just thrilled to have something so old in my care.

        2. Mrs. P

          So many stories, yet to be told…One bible’s journey through life. 🙂

          Don’t you sleep? It’s the wee hours over there. 🙂

        3. Gallivanta Post author

          Good question! You caught me out! I was supposed to be in bed. I do sleep….I sleep in 😦 I can’t remember when I last saw sunrise. Actually I lie; I can. Sunrise, Sept 4th 2010.

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