A little love on Valentine's Day
February 15, 2008
Happy Valentine's Day! A timely book showed up on my desk last week called Loving People by Dr. John Townsend (Nelson, 2008). Before you say "oh puh-leeze" about another book on how to get along better with the opposite sex (or, in this case, anyone of any gender), I just have to say that one of the biggest things I've learned about loving my partner over the years (and now my kids) is that I can always do better: It's a constant learning process. I also know that numerous studies have concluded that cultivating healthy relationships is key to health--almost every aspect of it. Here's a little bit of wisdom from Townsend's chapter "Connecting: Bridging the Gap":
"Becoming connected involves a transfer. Something real and actual changes hands, or in this case, hearts.... You must receive the connection in order to make the transfer complete. Just as when you do an online transfer of funds from one bank account to another, the transfer is not finished until the account being funded actually has the money in it. So you must take what is being offered. It is not enough to simply be in the presence of the person caring about you."
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