WQ #6: February 8: Love/Red
“Love dissolves deep shame.“
from the poem Forgive by Grace of the Sun
Bouquet in glass vase Glorious red perfection Romantic Legos ©Marsha Ingrao 2023 Senryu
Happy Wednesday and welcome to WQ. More has been said about the topic of love than probably any topic in the world. No color is more universally attached to love than red, so you will find many challenges in the next week about love and the color red. Feel free to borrow my photos this week if they help you feel the love. Just send me back the love via credit in your post, if you borrow.
Last Week’s Featured Bloggers Who Chilled Us
Thanks for being patient with me last week. There were days I didn’t have internet, and I couldn’t figure out how to post your links with my phone. But I’m back and excited to be with you again.
- EKLASTIC – WANNA KNOW HOW TO BE STRONG?
- KEEP IT ALIVE – CHANGING SEASONS ARE THE BEST TIMES OF THE YEAR
- LOVING LIFE – JACK FROST, ARTIST
- NEW2WRITING – LOVE IS IN THE AIR
- SECOND WIND LEISURE – GORGEOUS FROSTY PHOTOS
- STEIN WRITING – CHILLY LOVE TOWER
- THE SKEPTIC KADDISH – MOTHERS FEELING CHILLY – WATCH OUT!
- WRITER RAVENCLAW – COLD & FROST THEN WARM BIRDS ARE CONFUSED
For More Thoughts About Love
Your post link goes here.
- BUSHBOY’S WORLD – X-RATED BIRDS – BB IS THE NEW BIRD PAPARAZZI
- DEB’S WORLD – LOVING BLOGGING
- DEB’S WORLD – LOVELY IN RED PHOTOS
- EKLASTIC – BEAUTIFUL COUPLE, PERFECT QUOTE!
- GREAT BLUE HERONS – A LOVE AFFAIR
- KEEP IT ALIVE – A POEM OF LOVE, “THE UNIVERSE’S GLUE.”
- LOVING LIFE – HOW TO LOVE OTHERS COMPLETELY
- NATALIE THE EXPLORER – AMAZING RED FLOWERS, CARS, AND PUBLIC ART!
- SECOND WIND LEISURE – PICTURE PERFECT REDS
- THIS IS ANOTHER STORY – AN ANONYMOUS ROSE
- WIND KISSES – LOVE BATHED IN ARIZONA REDS
How To Love – Even Yourself
“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.”
1 Corinthians 13:4–8a
Wouldn’t you love a friend with these qualities? Not irritable … whaaaaa? Resentful? about what? I don’t envy your… (fill in the blank).
Wouldn’t you like someone to be that way with you? I’m not even that way with myself much of the time (mutter, mutter, mutter.) But I’d like to be.
“The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved; loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves.”
–Victor Hugo
This month I have had conversations with several women who are struggling to love themselves. We all long for the feeling of being loved and loving another as Victor Hugo and many others have said. When it works, it is glorious. But what happens if one party doesn’t love themself?
One of my friends who helps with a divorce support group recommended this book for people who need to learn to love themselves. The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook: A Proven Way to Accept Yourself, Build Inner Strength, and Thrive by Kristin Neff and, Christopher Germer.
“Love does not dominate; it cultivates.”
—Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
Psychologists tell us that if we don’t love ourselves, we compromise our ability to love others. We don’t believe that anyone else could love us – even God. We might even seek the wrong type of person to love because we don’t trust ourselves to choose. We don’t see ourselves as capable, so we fall in love with someone who seemingly has all the answers.
“It is a curious thought, but it is only when you see people looking ridiculous that you realize just how much you love them.”
–Agatha Christie
I doubt if the teen in the poem below loved herself or her brother at the moment. Have you ever had someone put you in a spot that made you look bad? Could you laugh at yourself and go with the flow, or did you react as this girl in my poem did?
He aimed high at her hard-earned curls Squirted flat Red hot mad She grabbed his squirt gun And aimed low "Sis, you're cute When you get so mad. Let's get changed." ©Marsha Ingrao 2023 Senryu
The poem was inspired by a squirt gunfight that took place when I was on a church outing as a 20-something woman. All I could think about was my hair and staying away from the fun that everyone was having squirting each other on a hot day.
The person who doesn’t love themselves, can’t allow themselves to look ridiculous. These kids were having fun at a student event while waiting to make their presentation. I don’t think either one of them suffered from low self-esteem.
Love is a powerful emotion, Willow Dot wrote this beautiful poem inspired by a song, which you can hear by clicking on the link.
“Polar oposites were they
©willowdot21
He the night she the day
He a fallen angel, dark
She so pure without a mark
They met, the universe exploded.
They ignored the odds against them loaded.
They were never meant to be
Yet could their love set them free?
If you only love the things that your mate loves and you change mates, will you still love those same things? Are you only loving what someone else loves? Or does your mate start to love the things you love? What if you never love the same things?
Zora Hurston had the answer to both questions, I think.
–Zora Neale Hurston
“Love makes your soul crawl out from its hiding place.”
Then again, who wouldn’t love a red truck like this one?
Or who couldn’t love this beautifully painted statue of a horse Vince and I saw at a mall.
Fun with Monochrome – Lighting and Reflections
One of the loves that my Dad and I shared was a love for photography. I might have gone with him because I wanted him to like me, but as our photo outings progressed I developed a love for photography. I especially loved developing the black-and-white pictures in a darkroom after we came home.
Cee’s black-and-white challenge focuses on lighting. The lighting at the Barrett-Jackson Auction was meant to blind buyers with the sparkling brilliance of all the vehicles. You hardly notice the reflections and the shadows on the side and in the windows because of the stary-like dots covering the car. But look closely and there is something for Patti’s LAPC as well.
The second picture intrigued me because of the reflection of light coming out of the short bookcase. What do you think caused that?
FOTD & CFFC Red Favorites
Almost everyone loves flowers – growing them, smelling them, rubbing a soft petal against your hand or cheek.
Also supporting
- CBWC – Lighting of Any Kind
- CFFC – Things People Grow
- Lens Artist Photo Challenge – monochrome reflections
- FOTD – all red, mostly roses
- PPAC – Photographing Public Art coming on Friday-Sunday
Upcoming and Ongoing on Always Write
- WQ Page
- WQ #7: February 15: GRID/GRIDLOCK/LINES
- WQ #8: February 22: BELOW/WRITER’S CHOICE/DOUBLE DIP CHALLENGES/WOTY
- #DICKENSCHALLENGE started February 7th. Join Yvette Prior, Trent McDonald, and me in reading ONE – not THREE Dickens’ novellas by June 9th.
Marsha Ingrao - Always Write 
59 responses to “WQ #6: Ready, Set, Love”
Lots of love to appreciate here. Hope you had a good day today. It was nice to see someone address the importance of loving oneself. So true.
The Lego flowers were fantastic!
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Thanks, Donna. Self-love is a hard topic to understand because it can be misconstrued as selfishness.
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I guess so. I hope others read your post. You should reblog it every so often, its message is clear from you.
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Do you reblog your posts?
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No. Sometimes I go back and read old posts to see where I was at, and pick parts for new posts. But haven’t done that in a bit. Busier these days.
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Sometimes I correct them and refer to them in a post, if it is relevant. Usually I have so much to talk about that, like you, I don’t have time to go back and rework them and republish. Currently I have over 1,600 posts, so that’s a lot of looking back! 🙂
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[…] See you in two days for WQ (Wednesday Quotes). There’s still time to post your link for Ready, Set, Love. […]
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Hi Marsha, these are all great quotes, poems and photos. For some reason the romantic legos do it for me :). You have a real talent for combining so many challenges into one post. So much joy in your words, many thanks.
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Thanks. You have two posts linked to WQ this week! Both are appropriate! I love the red photos, and then look at your beautiful profile picture! RED!
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[…] Marsha’s WQ challenge […]
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[…] Marsha’s Wednesday Quotes: Love and Red […]
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Perfect! Red is the best color of them all (even turquoise,) but you’ve got them both in one lucious picture.
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[…] WQ #6 Red/Love […]
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Hi Marsha, here’s mine
http://lifeafter50forwomen.com/2023/02/11/red-flowers-gifted-heart/
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I love this and all the comments as well. 🙂
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Thanks my friend
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🙂
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[…] for; WQ #6: February 8: LOVE/RED, hosted by […]
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[…] week’s topic for Wednesday Quote (WQ) #6 is Love and the color red as a tribute to Valentine’s Day. The only thing I can associate […]
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HI Marsha, that lego rose is very interesting but not remotely beautiful. A glorious post about red and love and flowers. Have a wonderful weekend.
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I guess I’ll have to cancel my order of lego flowers for your Valentine’s Day surprise then, Robbie. LOL
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Haha, yes indeed.
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[…] 1) February is Heart Month in Canada, 2) Valentine’s Day is coming up, 3) Marsha’s Wednesday Quotes challenge, 4) Terri’s Sunday Stills February Red colour challenge, and 5) My Photographing […]
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Thanks for joing WQ this week. Your reds are amazing!
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I love seeing the images in monochrome, Marsha. Interesting to see the transition from color. And I love those Lego roses!
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I thought those were so cool.
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[…] Wednesday’s Quotes on her Always Write […]
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Beautiful quotes and poems Marsha. I love the red truck…wow. The horse is pretty too.
https://troyerslovinglife.blogspot.com/2023/02/putting-fingers-to-keyboardwqtheme-love.html
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Thanks, Kirstin.
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Awesome post – feel better soon!
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[…] Marsha’s Wednesday Quotes #6: Love Red […]
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A lot to enjoy here, Marsha.
That art horse is stunning
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Thanks, Yvette!
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I know who would love that red truck! I’m surprised it’s not now in your front yard. 🙂
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He’s smiling at your statement, but not because it didn’t end up in our front yard. There were others he liked more, though. That was MY all time favorite.
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Red is such a gorgeous colour. I don’t know why I don’t have more of it in my life. Great poetry, Marsha.
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Thanks, Jo. I love red and have lots of it. You have the right coloring for wearing red.
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You gotta love the Red Truck and hot pink horse you and Vince saw Marsha. Love Grace’s poem, your poem and the song. Yes, loving ourselves is the first step to truly loving others. You covered it all here, nice job! 💞❤️♥️💋🌹
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Thanks! It was a work of love. 🙂
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I was going to write a lot more but my brain went to mush seeing the big Red ute 🙂
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I knew it would. I thought of you when I stuck it in there. My brain went to mush when I saw it. It was delicious.
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I like the new Wednesday Quotes pin or logo very much. I tend to gob up everything with lots of stuff. My writing, my scrapbooking, even my outfits can just have too much to them. This is so clean, pretty and easy-to-read and.
Those red Legos. What fun. And your haiku describing them, too. I guess senryu is more accurate but I was unfamiliar with that word and form of poetry so had to look it up. Guess Legoes can be romantic when they are used to build bright red blossoms.
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They were on my son’s table. I don’t know who built them, but they fascinated me. Thanks for the comment about the logo. Donna Connoly of Retirement Reflections did a great job with it. I tend to be a little busy, too. Even my posts get too busy, but that’s me. Glad to know someone like me! 🙂
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Great collection, once again. I struggle to find one quote and a fitting photo to go with it and you always have so many.
Although today I found 2 quotes: https://picturesimperfectblog.wordpress.com/2023/02/08/my-luve-is-like-a-red-red-rose/
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Love it! thanks for contributing!
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[…] Wednesday Quote #6 […]
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Thank y for the shout I am so pry to be part of your fabulous post 💜💜💜💜💜💜
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Thanks, again Willow. It turned out well, thanks to your contribution. It was the quote that got me started.
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I am glad to have been of help 😊
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I’m glad too! 🙂
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It was a really “Lovely” post ☺️
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Awww, thanks. I’m turning as red as a Lego rose!
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Hugs 💜💜
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Your story about the squirt gun resonated with me. I remember making stupid decisions like that when I was young. It wasn’t until I was older that I realized that most people are too busy worrying about themselves and how they look to care about how I look. Now I always choose fun over vanity.
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Likewise. Looks get less important as we get older, I think. Thank goodness – another phase to go through! Fun is a much better choice.
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Beautiful flowers for both my challenges 😀 😀
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High praise, Cee. After my lessons from you, when I start to process my millions of pictures, many of them are just a tad bit fuzzy – now I know why, so I don’t use them. You have made me much more mindful about what pictures I choose to post. 🙂 Lots of love and hugs to you both.
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So many beautiful sentiments about love here, Marsha. It is important we also love ourselves. I was teased incessantly as a child for my curly red hair (not bullied). When I hit my 20s, people stopped me to ask about my hair and when told it was all natural, all that teasing was reversed into envy. Talk about vindication!
I love your monochrome especially the lake view. Your red roses are also gorgeous, so be sure to save a view for Sunday Stills this weekend. Love the poetry and quoted this week. Talk soon!
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I’m sorry I missed frosty. I’m swamped and I have pictures of snow, but not much frost. Your pictures are just delicious. If they were candy, I’d eat them up!
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