they always win our hearts.
— Margaret Feinberg
The mouth speaks from the heart. It is impossible for a man
to conceal himself. In every act, word or gesture, he stands revealed
as he is, and not as he would have himself appear to be.
— “The Science of Mind,” page 449

Today is not only Valentine’s Day but also Ash Wednesday.
I’ll be interested to see how some choose to celebrate the
Feast of St. Valentine on the same day as many observe
the first day of Lent in Western Christianity, as a day of fasting.
One of several stories associated with the various early saints
named Valentinus included an account of St. Valentine of Rome.
He was imprisoned for performing weddings for soldiers who
were forbidden to marry and for ministering to Christians
(persecuted under the Romans). According to legend, during
his imprisonment, St. Valentine healed the daughter of his jailer
and before his execution, he wrote her a letter signed “Your
Valentine” as a farewell to her. This day first became associated
with romantic love within the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the
14th century, when the tradition of courtly love flourished.
     According to the canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark and
Luke, Jesus spent 40 days fasting in the desert, where he
endured temptation by Satan. Lent originated as a mirroring of
this, fasting 40 days as preparation for Easter. Ash Wednesday
derives its name from the practice of blessing ashes made from
palm branches blessed on the previous year’s Palm Sunday,
and placing the ashes on the heads of participants to the accompaniment
of the words “Repent and believe in the Gospel,” or
“Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
     A feast day and a day of fasting. Isn’t it the dichotomies that
make our lives so rich? Do you have areas in your life where you
seem to be embracing both ends of an energetic spectrum? What
if there’s nothing wrong with that? You can be neither or both.

AFFIRMATION

I love that I am always at choice. Always.

Daily Guide Wednesday February 14, 2018 – Science Of My Mind Magazine