Even roses eventually become garbage. To last longer they would have to be made of plastic and not as beautiful. Real beauty fades. The desirable is always temporary, the briefness is what makes it beautiful. Why hold on to the fleeting moment? What has a beginning will have an end. Too much attachment to things and people deprives them of their true beauty.

This morning I am grateful for every grain of sand, every rock and flower. I am grateful for the birds and the sky. I am grateful for humans who are capable of showing love, being love, choosing love. I am grateful that love is the dominating power, the force that makes everything happen despite all our planning and doing. I am grateful for everything that is alive, vibrant, searching, growing, expanding, evolving. I am grateful that I am a part of this miraculous web of being.

I bring this gratefulness everywhere I go, to every situation: I'm grateful for the smallest, most mundane and for the biggest, most divine. 

One thing that people often forget to be grateful for is their drains. Yes, their drains. Drains are amazing. But often it's not until they stop working that you realize how grateful you have been. By then the gratefulness you didn't notice has turned into a very definite annoyance. That's why I decided to appreciate everything that just works, the things you never even notice – the smallest, most mundane and the biggest, most deeply divine. 

What I noticed then is that when things go wrong, they can't disturb me. How this is possible I don't know. But I'm grateful and appreciate it all.

Wind touches my skin like silk
and I pray your heart be open
for joy to enter.
Sunshine kisses my arms
and I pray your eyes be open
for beauty to enter.
Rain nourishes my soul
and I pray your mind be still
for grace to enter.
My piece of paradise 
is tiny but big 
enough 
for love

It's a privilege to be able to love someone just as they are, whether they deserve it or not. It's a privilege to feel your love expand even when others show their less attractive sides. Love has nothing to do with perfection. Perfection is only an idea in the human mind. To grow above and beyond likes and dislikes is love. 

What is love? Love is the enormous grace of having been born to this Earth. Love is to be able to observe Earth from a human perspective. Just by being born you are loved, loved into existence. It’s easy to see only suffering or to focus on things or people we think we need to acquire in order to be happy and feel loved. But love is not a thing to be proud or jealous of. Love is absolutely free and available at any moment. 

Love is not confined to our bodies. Love is free, it knows no boundaries, no language, no religion, no skin color. We are born with a totally free capacity to love and be loved. It’s there, always. Treasure it, nurture it, discover its endlessness. Remember that you are a miracle. Your love matters. Your feeling of love matters. It makes a difference. Let it be free in you. Let it be free outside of you. Love needs to be given. The more it is given the more it grows. It’s easy to give love. You can give love to the sun, the moon and the clouds as well as to animals and humans. Don’t underestimate the enormous power of giving love to everything and everyone. Giving love is a way of being. It’s a revolution. Happy Valentine's Day!