As we approach that fun holiday, Valentine's Day next week, I was looking at the history of this day. There are many separate histories and also different "Valentine's" after whom the celebration is theoretically named.  There are different dates in the year that (St.) Valentine's Day is celebrated based upon the different cultural contexts. In many of the stories, Valentine was a good hearted person who was known for his good deeds.

In general, the good deeds of the "Valentine" have led us to celebrate by writing letters or cards of love.  The celebration expanded with the invention of printed cards, candy and special decorations--all as expressions of love.  St. Valentine's Day has also been associated with doves, known for their loving cooing sound and other birds as they announce the beginning of warmer weather and spring. Hearts, cupids and doves have all been used as signs of love.

Dr. Shinichi Suzuki wrote the book Nurtured By Love which has been translated into many languages including English. Children learn the language of their environment.  Children build character through our modeling--showing respect, kindness, love and generosity. As caregivers, guardians, and citizens of the world, we try to model this behavior to build good character.  Doing and behaving in the right way takes effort and requires emotional energy. We are willing to give this effort because of our love for our children and students.This kind of energy is sometimes drained by the pressures of our daily life: in school, at work, as caregivers and self-care. We have many demands on our lives.To regain emotional energy, I was wondering where this might come from.  For me, I believe that when one feels loved and when one is happy, energy multiplies. Life is better.

As parents, we are responsible for the practicing at home and encouraging our children to work hard in school and in all their activities. In our eagerness to encourage, we may sometimes push hard. We may not realize how this converts into a message that we do not appreciate our children as they are, only what they must become. Many cultures are based upon "scold to encourage" as a philosophy of parenting.  I believe that one of the best ways for our children to try harder is to show them love and to say how happy one is with who they are as people. In our busy lives, we do not always share our happiness.  In the coming week, and in celebration of Valentine's Day, perhaps one way to celebrate is to share a smile and a hug and to say how happy we are to be together with the people we love.  

Our Suzuki environment strives for this positive energy created through love.  Children want to be happy, as do we. In practicing, in life, and in our community let us provide an environment of shared happiness and love.  From this love, much can be accomplished.

Sachiko