Category Archives: Love
National Simplicity Day
July 12 is National Simplicity Day. There are many ways to practice simplicity, including bringing awareness to our daily actions. Practice kindness, even when it’s hard.
xo,
Debra
Compliment Your Mirror Day
July 3rd is National Compliment Your Mirror Day. Many tips for the this day involve doing something to improve your appearance or update your look. But today should be about looking beyond the surface and seeing the truly beautiful essence of the pure self. You are strong, you are unique, you are enough just as you are. Remind yourself of that today.
Upsy Daisy Day
Upsy Daisy Day is a day to engage in a little positive thinking — a day to believe that everything that can go your way will. If you encounter some bumps along the way, know that you can deal with any setbacks. You got this!
Have a great day!
Debra
Day of Vesak
Day of Vesak is a UN recognized holiday to commemorate the birth, enlightenment, and death of Siddhartha Gautama, more commonly known as Buddha. Buddha lived in present-day India and Nepal between the sixth and fourth century BCE. His teachings focused on messages about compassion, peace and goodwill, lessons we can all observe whether we identify as Buddhist or not.
Peace,
Debra
Global Love Day
May 1st marks Global Love Day, a day established in 2004 by The Love Foundation. It is a day meant to celebrate the wisdom of universal peace and love. It’s a great day to practice unconditional love for yourself as well as others. Be aware of your inner critic. Rather than ignore what the inner critic has to say, look at what it is saying without bias. Accept the truth of your own humanity and the humanity of others around us. Reframe any “negative” thoughts in a more positive way. Practice meeting anger with love. Recognize that although we are all different, we are all part of a greater whole and our diversity makes us stronger. Live and love without fear today.
Make Your Own Holiday Day
March 26 is Make Your Own Holiday Day, a day where you get to decide what and how to celebrate, well, anything!
I’m choosing to celebrate Teddy Pendergrass Day. It’s not a day I made up myself, but one not widely celebrated. Today would have been Pendergrass’ 67 birthday. If you aren’t familiar with him, his music, or his legacy, you should give him a listen.
Get up, get down, get funky, get loose!
Debra
Pink Shirt Day
Today is Pink Shirt Day (Canada), a day to rally against bullying. Two Nova Scotia high school students, David Shepherd and Travis Price, rallied friends and fellow students to wear pink after another student was bullied for wearing a pink shirt on the first day of school.
Unfortunately, bullying seems to be more prevalent in all areas of our society. So if you see bullying, speak up and stand up.Make a #pinkshirtpromise to spread love, compassion, and other positive energy through your actions and words. We can all take inspiration from Shiridi Sai Baba, “Before you speak, ask yourself: Is it kind? Is it necessary? Is it true? Does it improve upon the silence?”.
Kindness and compassion are not naive or weak; they are what makes the world a better place.
In peace and love,
Debra
National Love Your Pet Day
Monday, February 20, is National Love Your Pet Day! According to the ASPCA, about 37% to 47% of American households have dogs and 30% to 37% have cats. Clearly we love our pets.
Benefits of Pet Ownership
Owning a pet has many benefits.
- Increasingly, studies are showing that exposure to animals help reduce incidents of asthma and allergies in children;
- Having pets is a great way to connect to other people; and
- Pet ownership is calming, which can help reduce anxiety, depression, and loneliness, and lower blood pressure and triglyceride levels.
Ways to Celebrate
Pets do so much for us, so a day to do something for them makes sense. Here are a few ideas.
- If your pet loves a special treat, make or give them some;
- Take your pet on a long walk or special adventure;
- Make your cat or dog a toy;
- Simply give your fur-baby a little extra love and attention today; and
- If you don’t have your own pet, visit a shelter and play with and socialize the animals there.
With love,
Debra
Madly in Love with Me Day
It seems like the whole month of February is filled with hearts and chocolates and flowers… or at least the ads for them. While I’m not a huge fan of Valentine’s Day, I do like the idea of celebrating love. Celebrating our love of others is fine as long as we don’t get attached to the idea that we have to have someone outside ourselves to love or that we are only worthy of love if we have a significant other in our lives.
Madly in Love with Me Day is celebrated annually on February 13 and was established by self-help guru Christine Arylo, author of “Madly In Love With ME, The Daring Adventure To Becoming Your Own Best Friend”. The philosophy behind her message, which is targeted to women but can apply more broadly to anyone in society, is that we cannot truly love others without loving ourselves fully. This is true, too, of compassion, gratitude, and joy — the sources of all of these is within each of us and resides in the true Self. Yoga can help us tune in to the true Self.
Remind yourself whenever you need to today that you can love yourself.
xoxo,
Debra
National Freedom Day
February 1 is National Freedom Day, celebrating the day Abraham Lincoln signed the resolution that would become the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The wording is simple:
Section 1.
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
Section 2.
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
While the Amendment formally ended slavery, it did not end discrimination nor universally change what is in people’s hearts. It did, however, shine a light on injustice.
Each of us has some bias in our hearts — bias that is most often rooted in fear. It is up to us to evaluate our bias to better understand it and deal with it in ways that are not harmful to others. We must do our best not to live in divisive fear but in unifying love.
Debra
