Maybe some will remember this darling book and so many others that followed over the years, the absolute epitome of gentle wisdom and caring. I remember clinging to these books as I was growing up, how they gave me hope and inspiration and pulled me through the tough times. This is one I still have, published in 1960, and so sweetly written and wonderfully illustrated by Joan Walsh Anglund. I am happy to know that many of her books are still in print and available. I'm always scouting for them on my thrifting expeditions too. They still inspire me. And with Valentine's Day falling on Sunday, it seemed fitting to share a bit of this one:
" Love is a special way of feeling...It is the safe way we feel when we sit on our mother's lap with arms around us tight and close. It is the good way we feel when we talk to someone and they want to listen and don't tell us to go away and be quiet. It is the way we feel when we save a bird that has been hurt...or feed a lost cat...or calm a frightened colt.
Love is found in unexpected places . . . it is there in the quiet moment when we first discover a beautiful thing...when we watch a bird soar high against a pale blue sky...
when we see a flower that no one else has noticed . . .
when we find a place that shelters us and is all our very own.
Love starts in little ways...It may begin the day we first share our thoughts with someone else...or help someone who needs us. Or, sometimes, it begins because, even without words, we understand how someone feels. Love comes quietly, but you know it is there, because suddenly...you are not alone any more...and there is no sadness inside of you. Love is a happy feeling that stays inside your heart for the rest of your life."
Happy Valentine's Day!
(And...THANK YOU...Joan Walsh Anglund.)
