Love Is In The Air
Are you like me? I just love this time of year when the sky's blue, birds are singing and everyone is so much more relaxed and carefree.
Mind you, I'm actually more of an Autumn person at heart, but I do love the beautiful blue skies of Summer.
My mother used to be the same. She was always looking ahead to buying a new trench coat in September, browsing travel brochures and booking an extended weekend in one of her favourite cities - Rome, Vienna, Paris and London. She'd return with renewed energy, ready to face winter and stocking up on new books to read by her favourite authors. My beautiful mother never got to read my novels. Whenever I look back and remember the precious times we shared, I always see her in my mind's eye reading a new book, excitedly describing the characters and plot, almost as if she was part of the storyline.
My mother loved life. She was one of those rare human beings that never spoke badly of someone. "Walk a mile in their shoes and get to know them, their life and background and you'll understand who they are and why they turned out like they did" she would tell me. She had a rare gift for understanding and empathising with people less fortunate than herself.
My parents loved to throw a party, have short city breaks and spending time together as a family. There was so much love in my parental home not far from Limhamn's Harbour. Music playing on the old record player, book shelves bursting in the 'seams' as neither my mother and father could bear the thought of throwing away a precious book that symbolised something special to them.
Just like the old melody 'Love Is In The Air' with John Paul Young, my parents lived life to the full, surrounded by family and close friends, endless get togethers with the people they loved and lots of music and singing. Looking back I know how fortunate I was to have the kind of loving safe home lots of children don't get to experience. Whenever I reminisce about my idyllic childhood I feel so happy I had the opportunity to share it with my parents and create lasting memories.
Love Is In The Air. The words resonate with how I feel when walking barefoot on a beach with friends on a hot Summer's day, surrounded by special people and couples on a date, laughing and kissing. When we're very young life seems endless, with so much to look forward to.
Since then I've learned to live in the here and now. Mindfulness is a wonderful thing. It teaches us to be grateful for life and all the love around us if we take the time to feel and cherish the moment. Life's made up of special moments, people and places we recall throughout our lives. Moments we look back on later in life to remind ourselves who we are, where we come from and how far we've come in our own personal journey.
Love needs to be nurtured to survive tough times, drastic changes and whatever else life throws at us. It's what sustains and protects us when thing don't turn out as we wish and plan. I believe in love and romance. Where would we be if we didn't have that special person in our lives? Fashion, trends and everything we engage with in our lives eventually come to an end. What's left is the special warm feelings and memories we carry inside. A visit to a familiar park, picking sea shells on the beach late at night and watching the sun rise in the early morning hours remind me of what truly matters.
Be kind to yourselves and feel the love around you. It's still there no matter how much the world has changed.
Love is everywhere. All we have to do is keep our minds and hearts open to it and never take the people we love for granted. The time will come when all we're left with are memories and special times.
Enjoy the sunshine and joy of being alive.
Hélene xx