February Questions

From a teaching article:
"Questions open the mind. Statements close it."

Some people, like my late husband Jim, were given the message that asking a question is a sign of weakness, of not knowing. Ah, how much none of us really know. How valuable is the person who knows how to ask, and does not feel the less for doing so?

My question: What do our traditional holidays tell us about our ancestors?

February is the in-between month of winter. It is the month of my birthday and my Dad's as well. It is the month where the weather will suddenly become warm and spring-like, and then retreat just as quickly into winterness. It is the month of sunrises and sunsets against the bare branches of oak trees, the mistletoe bundles arranged like little balls of fur about the stark branches. It is the month when my scented violets bloom in small purple profusions as a harbinger to spring, the scent hovering  enchanting and nebulous.
It is the month of Valentines Day... red hearts and lace, chocolate and flowers, placed there in the grayness as a reprieve until those colorful Easter eggs take the stage.
I'm certain that our ancestors had reasons to devise holidays in increments thoughout the year. How clever they were, and how grateful I am.

When I go into classrooms now I see all kinds of red hearts and flowers. Hearts represent life and love. I believe so strongly in both those concepts. What a miracle our own heart is, the way it works, all by itself.
Happy Winter then, happy heart day, happy life and breath, happy birthday to all of us in Aquarius or Pisces... water and fish... life.