The desire to reach for the stars is ambitious. The desire to reach hearts is wise. ~Maya Angelou

It comes around once a year, and as a holiday, Valentine's Day allows us to focus on people we care about and elevate them to a special place of recognition. 

Here is the basic truth when it comes to the Charter for Compassion, each of you is the Charter. 

Every one of the 170,000+ names we have in our database is unique and very special because you keep us going. Of course, we should be offering special thanks to the community who give us contributions. Indeed, we are grateful to you, especially those of you who faithfully send us $3 or $5 each month. We realize this is a true sacrifice, as well as to those of you who give more. However, we are thankful to those who send us messages of concern about topics we address in our blogs or those who alert us to broken links on our website. These acts of kindness show us that you are there, engaging, and helping as we go forward. Just like many of us who don't keep in touch with people we love as often as we would like, we are grateful. Happy Valentine's day!

On Valentine's Day, we are surrounded by hearts, big and small, red, green, and peppermint, but those hearts symbolize the essence of love. There are mornings when I wake up and ask myself, is the Charter for Compassion spread too thin? Has it taken on more than it can deliver? I realize we are global, and I wonder if our messages are being reached worldwide. What difference will our Compassion Tree Project make in a world in the wake of environmental disaster? Can we convince our Charter family to see the importance of addressing a world free of nuclear weapons? Or will the programs we promote for children and youth really make a difference in the future? These are questions of the heart that drive our ambitions for reaching the stars.

The illustration accompanying this blog by Richard Stine is our Valentine's card to you. It isn't the usual pink or red-bordered heart, but instead, it speaks to the yearning in each of our hearts for something more. More love, more peace, more equality, more possibilities, more justice. 

Your presence is the present that you offer to us each day. We are grateful to you for your involvement in working at any level to bring compassionate action to the world. Where would we be without it?

With warm regards,

Marilyn Turkovich