Let’s talk about—and write about—Love. There are so many variations of Love: romantic, friendly, ecological (love of the natural world with a desire to protect it), parental, animal (pets, especially), children, and on and on. Then there is the use of love for things such as food, clothing, hair and other physical attributes, colors, seasons, and everything else that doesn’t have its own word for our admiration of it.

But I’d like to concentrate on Love of the highest order, love of and for other people. Some people are easy to love. We just seem to be attracted to them. They make us feel comfortable, cared for, listened to, and, yes, Loved. They are generous with their time and attention. We like to be around them. So, how do we nurture those relationships? By being the kind of person by whom we want to be loved. We, too, can be generous and attentive. We can give plenty of time to developing and maintaining those relationships.

But, what about those who are more difficult to love, with whom we just don’t seem to connect. We can write them off and move on, of course, but what if we are can’t walk away easily, like with family? That’s what our prompts are about in this post, walking that fine line between love and—Love.

Think of someone with whom you must interact regularly, like a family member, but who is difficult to be with. What can you do to make that relationship more loving? Make sure the steps are doable for you, simple and long range.

How might your thoughts and actions be changed to encompass a more loving attitude toward those who are less lovable?

What can you do if the actions you attempt are not accepted by the other person? What can you do then?

And then on the lighter side, write about someone you Love. What about that person makes you love him/her? Be specific. You might even write it out on nice paper and give to that person on Valentine’s Day!