February 2025
Tending You ... While Creating Cherished Moments
Listen to the audio version by Dorothy
The above illustration of a heart woven with my favourite flower, the hardy snowdrop - referred to by Alfred Lord Tennyson as fairy firstlings of the year - perfectly represents the month of February when romance is featured prominently in stores, ads and TV movies, each suggesting ideas for creating cherished moments that are shared with another. Yet, while Valentine's Day may have more of a romance focus due to advertising, it need not have a couple-monopoly. Let's consider how we might tend to ourselves in ways that create cherished moments, such as the following examples with which I became personally familiar:
- The 97 year old lady in a local care residence, needing wheelchair assistance, who takes meticulous care with her appearance, choosing each day's outfit and complementary jewellery. This lady is young-at-heart and an inspiration to others at her residence.
- Gardening, the passion of a friend who daily cared for his patio flowers and the ones he planted outside his apartment fence, giving joy to neighbours passing by.
- The lady I stopped locally to compliment her outfit, which included a stunning hat, and learning she had a total of 15, one to match each outfit; this resulted in a delightful shared experience of our mutual love of hats, their shapes and styles.
Wherever we are, in whatever situation - living alone, with our spouse, partner, family, or caring for another - let's continue to tend ourselves with cherished moments that warm our hearts ... as Rock Hudson said to Doris Day in the movie, Pillow Talk ... it's like being around a pot-bellied stove on a frosty morning. That does create a warm image, don't you agree? While my electric fireplace does not have crackling logs, it does give me joy with its cheery flames ... and I do have back-ups with the crackling peat fire DVD I purchased during a trip to Ireland, or the one on television.
There is no age limit to creating special moments that bring us great joy. Like myself, and the people I have mentioned in the examples above, we are each further along on the chronological scale than we were during our yesterdays, but there is one thing for very sure, not one of us will ever be as young as we are today! Those are the closing lines in The Book of Awesome, by Neil Pasricha, which I highly recommend as a trigger for recollecting forgotten awesome experiences ... and for adding new ones you might like to create.
I wish you special days ahead with many cherished moments that warm your heart and bring a smile. I certainly smiled (yes, it was a few years ago) when I read the caption on a card from a long-time friend of teenage years, "80 Years Young", which included the cartoon reminder that I don't get to live my life backwards ... reminding me of favourite lyrics by Irish singer, Enya in her song Pilgrim: You cannot change what's over, but only where you go.
Times of stillness can uncover thoughtful and creative insights; so, not only, but perhaps especially this coming month, let's tend ourselves by creating moments of stillness and then celebrating the images that arise, that contributed to each of us becoming the amazing person we are today, albeit moment by moment.
Until next time, from my heart to yours, as we step into February and the bliss of longer daylight hours, may I offer you a verse that I recently discovered among my documents. May you take it to heart and feel it wrap you in its warmth. I regret that a renewed search did not identify the author.
Wishing you, my friend, a warm and gentle year.
May the sun bring you new energy by day.
May the moon softly restore you by night.
May the rain wash away your worries.
May the breeze blow new strength into your being.
May you walk gently through the world and know its beauty ...
all the days of your life.
{Author unknown}
Blessèd be. Namasté!
Dorothy B.
An Innisfree Moment 2026 | 2019-2025 Archive | Newsletter Sign-Up
Rev. Dorothy Blandford, Ph.D
Apt. 202 - 1655 Martin Drive
Surrey, BC, V4A 6E1, Canada
604-535-9016
info@innisfreespirit.com