A Different Kind Of Valentine

There are three ways you can reframe your family experience to open you to more appreciation.

- Alan Cohen

February is the month of Valentines, when our thoughts turn to love. Usually we give Valentines gifts and affection to romantic partners. This month I would like to shift our focus to expressions of love to our family, in particular our parents.

While reading Soul Friends by Stephen Cole, I came upon a quote by Buddha that caused me to put the book aside and think for a long time: “. . .the debt of gratitude we owe to our parents is so great that we could carry them on our backs for our entire lives and yet still never fully repay it.”

Wow.

When I was growing up, I did not appreciate my parents. I was busy living out my own desires, figuring out who I was, and exploring the world. I took mom and dad for granted. I had judgments about them and wished they were otherwise. At times I was disrespectful. I was a self involved teenager.

My father passed away when I was 18 years old, before I reached a stage of life when I became more conscious about my relationships, so I never got to express my appreciation to him.