Traveling Straight to the Heart this Valentine’s Day

Traveling to the Heart

Travel WriterToday you’re a travel writer. You know the benefits of venturing to unknown places, catching new aromas of food never explored, and seeing sights with fresh eyes. Your senses explode with excitement and no doubt, creative mojo.

If you’re not careful, however, those same senses can become dulled by the routine of life. You drive to work or school via the same route every morning. On the way, you listen to the same station. Every Friday night, pizza here we come. Over time, the senses gradually dull as they become all too accustomed to your daily doings. You and I begin to take this gift of sensory for granted and if we’re not careful, the same thing could hold true for those we love.

If you’re wondering if I mistakenly submitted this post to Inspire a Fire instead of Psychology Today, rest assured this is no mistake. After all, is there any destination more traveled, more wondrous, awe-inspiring, or rewarding than that of the heart?

It’s for this reason I encourage you to consider traveling to the heart through what you do best, writing. Below you’ll find a few ideas to try, but being the creative person that you are, I’m sure you’re already way ahead of me. (I hope to hear from you in the comment section!)

Love

Three Routes to Try in February:

  • Take small slips of paper and on each slip, write one thing you love about that person, a favorite memory that you both share, or a specific way that person has impacted your life. Fill a container (I love Mason jars!) with the slips of paper; tie a tag explaining how the recipient is to remove and read one slip each day for the month of February, or whatever length of time you choose. (For bonus points: Sprinkle a layer of rose petals on the bottom of the jar. As they begin to dry, the slips of paper will become immersed with their scent.) Okay, maybe I should have submitted this to Good Housekeeping, but let’s continue.A3map216
  • You’re a travel writer. Draw a map that pinpoints your relationship milestones. Be as colorful and creative as possible. To top it off, plan a mini-getaway to a restaurant or particular place where one of your milestones took place, if possible. (Or take a parent or grandparent to their hometown.)
  • You are a trained observer. Plan to travel to a place you both love, whether it’s just for an afternoon or for an entire weekend. The theme? Love, of course! Go on an expedition to find all the things you love about that place. Engage those five senses. Take pictures, journal about your time together.

You know that the heart of another is sometimes the most difficult destination of all to reach. But isn’t this what makes the journey all the more valuable?

Let us enjoy the greatest adventure of all—love⎯this month, and every month to come.

“A traveler without observation is a bird without wings.” – Moslih Eddin Saadi

How about you? Are you willing to try one of the above ideas, or do you have a love-related writing idea to share? I’d love to hear from you!

Cathy Baker

Cathy Baker is an award-winning writer and author of Pauses for the Vacationing Soul: A Sensory-Based Devotional Guide for the Beach as well as Pauses for the Vacationing Soul: A Sensory-Based Devotional Guide for the Mountains. As a twenty-five-year veteran Bible instructor, she's led hundreds of studies and workshops. She's also contributed to numerous anthologies and publications, including Chicken Soup for the Soul, The Upper Room, and Focus on the Family’s Thriving Family. In addition, her poetry can be found in several popular anthologies. She and her husband, Brian, live in the foothills of the Carolinas where she one day hopes to have her very own Goldendoodle. Subscribe to Cathy's blog and receive a free e-book, Praying In Every Room of Your Home. http://www.cathybaker.org

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4 comments

  1. Great ideas. Some of the most loving gifts are from our minds and fingers! One year I filled out many postit notes and hid them all over the apartment- each stating a loving thought or memory. Took weeks for DH to find them

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