Friday, February 4, 2022

In love and light by Judith Ashley

Hi, I’m Judith Ashley, author of The Sacred Women’s Circle series, soul nourishing romantic women’s fiction with light paranormal elements. My stories show you what life could be like if you had a place like The Circle where you are unconditionally accepted, supported and loved. And where, with this support, you make choices to overcome the darkest nights and choose love and light.

February, the month of love and romance, becomes focused on February 14th, at least here in the United States.  But what about February 15th or even April 15th or September 15th? What about celebrating this month of love and romance during an on-going pandemic?

Thousands of people who live alone, myself included, have been experiencing “skin hunger” from the lack of hugs. Untold thousands have been denied the ability to hold the hand of someone they loved and cared about as they crossed over to another realm. Saying those precious three words “I Love You” over the phone or on a virtual call is better than nothing but lacks some essential energy that is only available when face-to-face and looking into each other’s eyes.

While certainly not The Answer, here are some of my thoughts:

I adopted the phrase “In love and light” as my author tag line and my signature line decades ago when I realized I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to let people know they were special. As I write this or any other blog post, when I write an email or send a text as I click on publish or send, I visualize a stream of love and light following along.

This year I’m working on expanding this practice to saying Thank You to everyone who assists me through the day. The grocery store clerk, the gas station attendant, the bank clerk, the receptionist, the people in my neighborhood who step to the street so I can remain on the sidewalk. I’m doing fairly well with this practice especially when I’m focused on where I am and what I’m doing.

One interaction that lightens and brightens my day is if, at the end of a transaction whether on the phone or in person, I’m asked if there is anything else I need, I now response “Yes, for you to have a fantastic rest of your day” or words to that effect.

While what I’m doing is not exactly a romantic gesture nor is it romantic in any way, from the bright smiles and warm voices it does matter to the other person.

So, do we need love? Is love all we need? I believe we do want to know, to actually feel loved unconditionally by at least one other person. We want to matter to someone else. I also believe we need to apply these same principals to ourselves: to love ourselves unconditionally, to forgive ourselves for being human and inevitably making mistakes and to treat ourselves with compassion.

Last month I shared Dr.William Glasser’s 7 Caring Habits. I know someone cares about me when they engage in those “loving” or “caring” behaviors. In other words, the words are not enough – at least for me. I want more. I want the words AND the loving, caring actions.

Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman says to Richard Gere that she wants it all. She wants the fairy tale. The truth is we each have our own “fairy tale” about love.

My wish for you is that you unconditionally love yourself so that your fairy tale comes true.

And, I’d love to know what your thoughts are about how to keep love and light alive throughout the rest of 2022 and beyond. I’ll be checking back and responding as the day goes on.

You can learn more about unconditional love and how to create relationships that work in my Sacred Women’s Circle series.

My Staying Sane in a Crazy World, provides you with a template to create your Personal Staying Sane Plan to help you through the challenging times.

You can find all of my books at your favorite e-book vendor. Be sure to ask your local library if you’d prefer to read my books through that resource.


Learn more about Judith's The Sacred Women’s Circle series at 
JudithAshley.net

Follow Judith on Twitter: JudithAshley19

Check out Judith’s Windtree Press author page.

You can also find Judith on FB! 

© 2022 Judith Ashley

4 comments:

Diana McCollum said...

What an up lifting blog post!
I always wish the people I deal with at the grocery etc a wonderful day. and I try and smile at everyone. It feels good when that person smiles back.
Your self help books are really good and well worth the price.

All the best for a really good day!

Dari LaRoche said...

Great post, Judith. I agree with Diana - very uplifting. Positive attitudes are the most helpful in moving forward. Life is too short to allow negativism to flourish in our lives. I try to always do the same things you and Diana do when moving through interactions with others.

Judith Ashley said...

Diana, thanks for stopping by. I totally agree that returned smiles brighten my day. And, I can tell when someone smiles even with a mask on. Their eyes light up!

Judith Ashley said...

Dari, Life is too short to allow anything but joy to flourish. Thanks for stopping by.