I listen carefully to all advice that I am given and make a decision on how that advice relates to me and my beliefs.  Equally as important as the advice I follow is the advice that I tuck away as something not to pursue.  

I try my best to avoid giving unwanted advice to others.  However, my continual advice to myself is to keep my heart open to abundant love. 

As I walk through each day I make a decision to love.  I choose to see the good.  I can always find something to dislike, but I don’t allow myself to dwell on the negative things.  I set my thoughts on what brings me joy and I work through my list of priorities for the day.  I choose to love what I do with my time.

Just as I make a decision to love my life, I also make a decision to love people.  I show love and compassion to people that I know, to people that I don’t know, and to people that have different values and belief systems than mine. 

Forgiveness is very important to me, otherwise, I find myself angry and unpleasant.  It is difficult to take my own advice, open my heart to love, while hanging onto angry thoughts and feelings toward others.   I let go of control and give those worries to God. 

As far as romantic love, I have always felt that my partner should be someone who brings out my good qualities.  Someone who makes me a better person than I am as an individual.  I expect the same to be true for my partner; in that, I would enhance their personality, also. 

I hope never to be in a relationship where I turn into someone I don’t like.  I know it is time to find different people to interact with when I start to dislike who I am becoming.  Whether romantic love or simply friends I gravitate toward people that make me a better person.   

I look at my parents who have very little in common except for their core values.  They are both wonderful individuals, but as a team, they both complement each other which makes for a strong relationship.  Each of them would say the other adds more to the marriage.  Their respect for each other has kept them both humble and very grateful for each other.

My late husband and I were also very different in most ways except for our core values.  Despite our differences, we both appreciated what each other brought to our relationship.  He definitely made me more fun!  I honestly don’t know how I influenced him, but I know that we brought out the best in each other and were better together. 

I remind myself often to love being alive and love one another.  I am grateful for experiencing a relationship where we were stronger as a team than as individuals.  I find all levels of friendship to be a blessing when we find ourselves becoming better people as a result of the friendship.  I choose to open my heart to abundant love.

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