Valentine’s Day is often characterized as a day in which, “Love is in the air”. When something is in the air, it seems to be everywhere and everybody everywhere is talking about it.  It’s a day that people in the U.S spend on average $25 billion dollars, on romantic gifts, roses, heart shaped balloons, heart shaped diamond jewelry, candles, lingerie and expensive wines (non-alcoholic I am sure).  

For the past few years instead of Rita and me going out to dinner, we’ve had dinner at home. Not to be out done by the restaurants, she has made sure the table and dining room is set just right! I supply the roses of course and the box candies. Rita prepares the steak, sets the table with red hearts, candles, and heart shaped wine glasses. Sometimes soft music is playing in the background.  I offer up a prayer of thanksgiving and we settle in for a romantic candlelit dinner. 

What I just described is what you call, “Ambience”, the setting of the character and atmosphere of a place. In other words, ambience plays a huge part in “setting the mood”.  Now let me suggest, ladies that husbands don’t really get excited over the lingerie you wear and husbands, wives don’t really get that excited over the chocolate covered strawberries you bought her!  You are setting the mood!

Kindness as a characteristic and quality of love is the “Ambience”. It’s the mood setting for everything else. Without kindness being the innate quality of what you do, everything that you do is cold and calculated. Kindness supplies the warmth that can be felt as genuine love. It’s friendly, generous and considerate. Setting the mood, is not so much about a one-time show of appreciation, acknowledgement or affection, it’s about the small, everyday display of love demonstrated by acts of kindness.

Being “Kind”, sometimes requires courage and strength, that’s why it is second in the list after “patient”, when describing what love is. Remember “Kindness”, sets the mood for real love!

CBA/RA