The best part about the holidays in my opinion (aside from the wonderful treats, & family coming together of course), is the endless cycle to which one of my favorite movies is played. Love Actually. It’s a WONDERFUL film weaving 9 thoughtful, heartwarming stories of love in all its many complexities together. It challenges us to look for the love in our own lives. 

    Sometimes there are big, grand examples of love we don’t need to look very far to identify. A proposal, or some sort of grand gesture taken to show someone how much they are cared for. And while that is wonderful and a true expression of love and adoration, sometimes the small ones are the more meaningful ones. In the movie, they talk about the arrival gate at Heathrow airport and how there is never so much love than in that one place where families and friends are reunited. Having just been through there last month, I’ve seen it with my own eyes. The hugs & tears, the smiles & overwhelming joy to see a loved one you’ve missed or have just longed to hold in your arms even for a few moments. 

     But airports aren’t the only places you’ll see this. Look around you. At the supermarket or the coffee shop. Whether it’s a sweet hand hold that means, “I feel you, I’ve got you”, or a slight kiss on the cheek meaning “I just felt like showing you how much I love you & didn’t want to wait”. Heck, my two year old twin neighbors will spontaneously hug often and give kisses to each other because the love and bond they have for one another is so strong, and innate sometimes they just can’t seem to help themselves. 

      Drew Barrymore put out a wonderful book a few years ago called “Find It In Everything” where she kept her camera with her for one year and caught images of random items or mock ups that resembled hearts. She said “you could truly find love in everything if you just looked hard enough”. 

    So how do you show love? Do you do it in a Facebook profile status or an Instagram post? Do you bring your sweetie flowers or cook together? Do you buy jewelry on special occasions while making sure that person knows the sun rises and sets above them every other day? Is your thing making sure your loved one is as provided for and safe as possible? Or do you do what my Dad does & make a special pasta sauce for my Mom so her acid reflux doesn’t act up? That my friends is real love. And it’s really “good stuff”.