During this season of frozen days and contemplation, with Valentines Day looming large on the commercial horizon, I ask myself if I can find a way to keep love simple and fresh.  A homemade card for a loved one, a pot of soup on the stove, or a telephone call, just to hear a grandchild's voice--these are easy ways to express our affection.

But how about for ourselves?
How do we declare our love for ourselves?
How do we express our appreciation to those who offer us the greatest challenges?

Every challenge, every interaction with a difficult person (is that difficult person yourself?), is an opportunity to create, to stretch out in a new direction, to grow.  
Without this stretch, we only half live, smugly closing our hearts around the Three Poisons of delusion, anger and greed.
Perhaps in simplicity, the heart just wanders and plays, knowing there are no gates and no boundaries.