This week as I was reading some of the Love Tips comments on my new Love With No Regrets site, I noticed that more that 50% of the comments referenced hugging. Several mentions of hugs and other forms of touch are also shared in “55 Ways to Show Love.”
It’s therefore not surprising, that when I started taking photographs of beautiful roses one of the first images that caught my eye were the two red roses in a hug.
As I considered “hugs”, I was reminded of something I had read a few years ago, not long after my beloved Sam died. “We need 4 hugs a day for survival… 8 hugs a day for maintenance… 12 hugs a day for growth,” Virginia Satir, psychotherapist/author.
And, I was reflecting on the roses, I remembered several years ago a subscriber had written to point out that roses are a symbol of love. She shared that she used a single rose as the first gift husband and wife chose to say, “I love you” in wedding ceremonies that she conducted.
If after reading today’s message, you have any “ahas” insofar as giving roses to a loved one in the future, specifically to say “I love you,” you might want to consider having a general conversation on roses with him or her. I offer this simply to ensure you are both on the same page.
For me, though I do love roses, I would not have viewed receiving one as any more, “I love you,” than any other flowers Sam gave me. As a matter of fact, my preferred, “I love you” flower from him was a gardenia. Interestingly, I now have a huge gardenia bush outside my kitchen window which reminds me of him, especially when it’s in full bloom.
On the other hand, it would seem, at least to me, that hugs between partners and friends and family speak for themselves in terms of “I love you.”
On to two more roses for
Today’s Photos –
The above two photos were taken at night, indoor lighting, no flash, against a black background; thus the drama and the slight blur in the upper photos.
The pink and yellow roses were photographed with my Canon Digital camera; the hugging red roses with my iPhone camera.
The roses were sent to me as a “Thank You” by a dear friend and recent visitor to my home. Thanks now to her from me and all of you who are appreciating the beauty of the roses.
Self-Reflecting Queries –
Obviously today’s photos and message are on “acknowledgment” and “expressing love.”
Given we’ve been discussing this more frequently in recent issues of Picture to Ponder, I invite you to look into your life and do a check:
Has anything been opening up for you out of these discussions?
Are you noticing anything more about yourself?
Have you been becoming more tuned into how you express your love?
Have you become more open to ways your partner, your friends, and even you to yourself, might be showing you love, things perhaps you’d interpreted differently in the past?
And, as I wrote in a recent mailing to some of you, I put forth to you all here:
Have you shared your ways of showing love, and/or how you most appreciate being shown love, in discussion with your partner?
It’s a great conversation opener, especially when you’re not attached to a specific outcome, coming from openness, rather than an agenda of rights or wrongs.
Have fun and please post your experience of this on the Photography and Transformation blog.
If you wish to respond specifically the relationship questions, I invite you to comment on the LWNR – Love With No Regrets – blog entry.
While on the LWNR site be sure to add your tip also on the Tips page.
If you haven’t already done so, Get Your Copy Now –
55 Ways to Show Love –
It includes contributions from 30 Picture to Ponder subscribers. You can get the download link by clicking on 55 Ways PDF. All of the tips are filled with love. There are some especially creative tips ones.
“Sheila Finkelstein, ‘Love with No Regrets,’ offers a soulful guide to deepening love with a partner. ’55 Ways to Show Love.’ I was one of the lucky contributors. Get download here.” Jan Lundy, www.awakenedliving.com
[Note this does include a subscription to Picture to Ponder and so long as you use the same email address as you have here you will NOT get duplicate mailings.]