The Snowflake Chronicles

My Thoughts On Valentine's Day

Thoughts On Valentine’s Day

Today is Valentine’s Day, the day when love is celebrated. Today we remember to say “I love you,” to the important other in our lives, but how often do we remember to say it the rest of the year. And if there is no important or significant other in our lives, then to whom do we say “I love you.” Do we say it to a pet or a parent or to no one? If there is no one else in the world to say I love you to we can say it to ourselves and to the Divine Essence.

The command to “love your neighbor as yourself” was sent from God through one of the Divine Messengers. How often do any of us, say I love you, in either word or action, to the Divine Messenger we follow. If we say I love you to one of the Divine Messengers then we are saying I love to the Divine Essence itself. How do we say I love you to a Divine Messenger? Each of us must answer this question individually because each person, while potentially revealing all the attributes of divinity, is at a different stage in his or her spiritual journey. However, one way to say it, is to learn to love ourselves as the Divine Essence loves us. Once we learn to love ourselves then we can love both our neighbors, the Divine Messengers and the Divine Essence.

Every Divine Messenger is a gift from God, from the Divine Essence, to humanity. The all came from the same spiritual Being. They came in different ages because of the differing needs of humanity in the different stages of its social and spiritual evolution or progress. Each religion is a gift from the Divine Essence, each Holy Book gives different laws because they were revealed in different ages, but all bring the God’s love to humanity. We have proof of God’s love for humanity because another of the Divine Messenger told us that “God so loved the world …”

Another Divine Messenger inspired one of His followers to put God’s love in these words:

“If it is possible for you to be sincerely afraid of Allah as well as have sincere faith in His Justice, Mercy and Love of His creatures, then try to hold these two beliefs firmly because a man entertains and cherishes the love, reverence and veneration of Allah in proportion to His fear and awe that develops in his mind.”

(Ali b. Abi Taalib, Letters from Nahjul Balaagh)

While another of the Divine Messengers put God’s love in these words:

“O SON OF MAN!
Veiled in My immemorial being and in the ancient eternity of My essence, I knew My love for thee; therefore I created thee, have engraved on thee Mine image and revealed to thee My beauty.”

(Baha'u'llah, The Arabic Hidden Words, #3)

The Divine Essence

Humanity knows God by a thousand names,
Though we each call Him by one.
Humanity gives God a gender,
Though the Divine Spirit has none.
God’s Messengers inspire us to inscribe
Our love’s phrases upon our hearts and souls.

These are my thoughts on Valentine’s Day 2006.

(8 Mulk 162 B.E.)