The Beatles said it best and the chorus of that wonderful song still rings true. All you need is love. We are all individuals and by our nature isolated so it is no wonder that we seek out connections to other people.

Life brings us into contact with all kinds of different people. We start with our families and move out into the circles of friendships that form throughout your life. We are presented every day with the opportunity to improve our connection to those around us.

We all have some room in our hearts for a little more love. We will all enjoy a kind word, a warm smile, a pat on the back, a hug, a kiss. It makes us feel better. It makes you feel loved.

Knowing how you feel when you receive those warm expressions can be the trigger to recognizing that everyone benefits from them and maybe you can be moved to action and start to share some tenderness with those people you care for.

What we don’t always realize is how much we all have to give. Love is the ultimate sustainable resource, the more you give the more you create. Love is the stone that you can throw into life’s pond and the ripples never stop.

Once you begin to share your affection you realize that you didn’t deplete yourself by giving your feelings away, instead you will renew yourself with both an increase in your ability to care and your capacity for love.

Every day offers the chance to bring more love into the world. Instead of holding your affections inside why not pull the cork on that bottle and share it with those you care about.

Let your heart grow.

Valentines day, the holiday built on love, doesn’t have to be just about the love between a couple. Lets make Valentines day an opportunity to say I love you to everyone you care for. Tell your mother, tell your father, your brother, your sister, your children, your best friend, all your friends you care about, those people who are important to you. Tell them all. It doesn’t hurt, in fact it gets easier.

Sharing your love will open up your own emotions and will bring back more good feelings than you could possibly imagine

Just as I want to continue to push my own boundaries physically and artistically, I also want to expand emotionally. I want to be less afraid and more open.

I have thought about this a lot over the past year, facing the emotions inside and trying to let them come out. I have moved forward in my willingness to express how I feel towards my family and friends. I will admit it has been a journey, not so much for family as I have always been comfortable with saying I love you to them. But with friends it has been a gradual process. While I can recognize those sincere feelings I have that care for another person, for someone who knows I would be there for them and that I want to see only the best things happen in their lives, I also know I can be crossing a social barrier. I never want to make a friend feel uncomfortable or awkward as a result of my expression of caring.

There is always the chance to lead the way, to demonstrate with your actions how others can follow, to show how small acts of kindness can move the people you care about to open their hearts.

This Valentine Day open your heart to those people who are matter to you because you will also learn that you are important to them. Give your love without expectations and you will be surprised.

So the journey continues.