When I landed in Spain, I instantly felt the weight fall from my chest. I walked into my Airbnb and was elated when I saw the ocean view. It was as if the external beauty was finally matching something that was shifting internally—a readiness to receive healing instead of just surviving it.

Heart healing requires me to slow down. To take time to journal in the sun on my terrace, while drinking Evian water. It involves compassion to come to peace with the feeling of disappointment after a divorce and multiple failed relationships. Healing requires me to dispel the stories and fill them with truth.

Heart-centered living requires me to honor my energy as sacred and prioritize my joy. I'm learning to notice when conversations, environments, or even my thoughts move me from peace to anxiety. I permit myself to follow joy and the beauty of life. Something I have not done.

Valentine's Day wasn't always my reality of love. As a child, I saw it through rose-tinted glasses - a magical day when cupid's arrows brought together souls from all walks of life. But years of empty doorsteps taught me a different story. Now, watching masked delivery men carry bouquets through city streets, I understand how love arrives unexpectedly, often through unlikely messengers. My journey from childhood fantasy to deep understanding came not through romance, but through friendship, faith, and finally learning to stay present with both beauty and imperfection. This is a story about discovering that love isn't just about waiting at the doorstep - it's about recognizing it in its simplest forms, even in the very air filling your lungs.