“Cherish the beauty and cherish the pain, both will give you experience and you will never be the same”
~ Nikki Rowe
It is the end of the month, and time for a little Potpourri. A bit of this and a bit of that. And I thought I would dip into the Women’s Circle of Joy assignment again this month. February’s topic dealt with the idea of and our thoughts on the word Cherish. The Women’s Circle of Joy group is led by, Cigdem Kobu of Peaceful Triumphs.
I don’t think I have ever thought much about the idea of cherish or cherishing. And truthfully this whole concept, at first, had me a bit perplexed. For my husband, cherish means sweetly thinking of old memories. But my immediate thoughts turn to something different.
Cherish evokes thoughts of love….but maybe more….or maybe a bit different from love. When I cherish someone or something, I not only hold them dear, but treat them dearly. There is a tenderness and nurturing that happens in cherishing. There is adoration, encouragement, treasuring, support, comfort.
I think perhaps this word, cherish, is the linchpin of love, or more specifically that deep soulful love. I can say I love chocolate, but do I cherish it. No, not really. And I do love a brilliant, colorful sunrise. But do I cherish this sunrise? Yes, in this case I believe I do….because of the incredible soulful emotion that it brings to me….I somehow feel comforted by this new dawn. And I treasure being in its presence. I am lost in its essence for the 15-20 minutes it might last. I can’t get enough of it as it changes, it deepens and morphs until the sun finally is revealed brightly burning.
And so it is when I love and cherish someone. And we say this word in our wedding vows….love, honor and cherish. But I never considered what those words really meant. Somehow, on some level, I knew there was a mutual cherishing love between my husband and me. One where we have grown together and still do. Where we support each other in very different ways. We love all of the other person; those things that are funny, comforting and even those things that annoy us. And those annoying things, I think, are most cherished, as that what makes us who we are….our true essence.
I think those loves in my life that didn’t work out, failed because there wasn’t any cherishing. The love was bright and burning, romantic for a while, and then it was gone. And when I reflect back now, it seems they didn’t last because there wasn’t a deep support for one another. Deep down my soul knowing I wasn’t accepted fully, wasn’t treasured for who I was.
And when did I first know that cherishing love? I was lucky to know it from my loving parents who indeed cherished their children no matter what. Even when we made mistakes we were cherished. We were forgiven, taught a lesson perhaps with consequences and allowed to fall and make mistakes again. They cherished us enough to allow us to learn and grow with their guidance and support.
“But for the most part, love is a recognition, an opportunity to say, ‘There is something about you I cherish.”
~Raymond E. Feist
And since I have experienced this cherishing love, I have found a deeper love and acceptance for myself and my gifts. And each moment of my life is special; shared by and with those I cherish. And I cherish the natural world around me supporting it as it gives back beautiful sights, sounds and smells. I cherish the life lessons, both those that have been joyful and those filled with excruciating pain, as they are both special for what they have taught me and are still teaching me.
The exercise of contemplating this word Cherish has been quite interesting. I encourage you to think about what you cherish in life. From a simple smell, that brings back deep heartfelt memories, to a song or sound. These things we cherish are what makes our life so much richer, so blissful, so very delicious.
Note: The Paperwhite flowers pictured here are said to be an aphrodisiac because of their intoxicating smell. They also represent respect, modesty and faithfulness.
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I leave you with another thought about cherishing. Feel free to download this photo and share.
All other photos and original content is copyrighted and the sole property of Donna Donabella @ Living From Happiness, 2014-2015. Any reprints or use of other photos or content is by permission only.