Notes for the Month: February - On Love

February arrives carrying a familiar narrative. Love, amplified. Packaged. Often made loud. Before moving forward, we wanted to pause. This month, we’re holding love a little differently; less as something to announce, and more as something to live with. Not a fixed idea or a single form, but a series of small, everyday choices that shape how we relate to ourselves, to others, and to the world around us.

These are our February notes.

For us, love isn’t always romantic or expressive.It often shows up as attention. Care. The willingness to stay present with what’s in front of us; whether that’s a relationship, a process, or a quiet moment with ourselves.

We’re noticing how love softens when we stop trying to define it. This month, we’re honouring love in its many forms: romantic, platonic, collective, creative and especially the relationship we have with ourselves. Not as something to perfect or display, but as something to stay connected to. A relationship built slowly, through steadiness rather than intensity. We’re also turning our attention outward. Love doesn’t live only within us. It appears in how we move through nature. In how we treat animals, even when no one is watching. In small, unremarkable acts of care toward other people. Not dramatic. Just consistent.

Alongside these reflections, we’re drawing inspiration from voices and stories that approach love with depth and honesty this month:

WHAT WE'RE READING THIS MONTH

All About Love by Bell Hooks

A New York Times bestseller and enduring classic, All About Love is the acclaimed first volume in feminist icon bell hooks' "Love Song to the Nation" trilogy. All About Love reveals what causes a polarized society, and how to heal the divisions that cause suffering..

Bell hooks approaches love not as a feeling or ideal, but as a practice. She invites us to think of love as an active choice; something we do through care, responsibility, honesty, and commitment. Moving beyond romantic myths, the book explores how love begins with self-connection and extends outward into community, offering a vision of love as a force capable of healing both individuals and society.

Love & Will by Rolla May

Rollo May explores the relationship between love and intention, arguing that love without will loses direction, and will without love becomes empty. The book reflects on how modern life disconnects us from both, and why reclaiming them is essential for living with depth, responsibility, and meaning.

WHAT WE'RE WATCHING THIS MONTH

Happy Together — Wong Kar-wai

A tender and fragmented portrait of a relationship caught between closeness and distance. Set against constant movement and emotional dislocation, the film explores how love can feel both intimate and unstable at once; shaped as much by longing and repetition as by connection itself.

Past Lives — Celine Song

A quiet meditation on love, timing, and parallel lives. Rather than offering clear answers, the film sits with the emotional residue of choices made and paths not taken, suggesting that love doesn’t always need resolution to be meaningful.

Too Much — Lena Dunham

An unfiltered look at modern intimacy and emotional excess. Through humour and discomfort, the series questions how contemporary culture blurs the line between desire, attachment, and self-worth and what happens when intensity is mistaken for love.

WHAT WE'RE LISTENING THIS MONTH

Reimagining Love with Dr. Alexandra Solomon – Why Self-Compassion Is an Essential Practice with Dr. Kristin Neff.

Dr. Alexandra's conversation with Dr. Kristin Neff is all about self-compassion, an essential tool for your emotional well-being toolkit (and that's scientifically proven!). Dr. Kristen Neff, a trailblazer in the field of self-compassion research, introduces the three foundational pillars of self-compassion, illustrating how integrating all three of these elements empowers individuals to confront their inner critic and cultivate healthier connections.

Listen podcast here.

Jillian on Love with Jillian Turecki– Lust Is not the Same Thing As Love

In this episode, Jillian reads from It Begins With You to break down one of the most painful patterns in modern dating: confusing lust, intensity, and obsession with real love. She explains why chemistry can feel intoxicating-and why it so often leads to confusion, unmet needs, and heartbreak. If you've ever felt addicted to someone who couldn't show up for you, this episode brings clarity back to where love actually begins.

Listen podcast here.

February, for us, is an invitation.An invitation to slow our pace, to soften expectations, and to notice how love moves through our lives when we stop asking it to perform.

It’s a time to reflect on the relationships we’re building - with ourselves, with others, and with the world around us - and to consider how care, presence, and intention shape them over time.

Love, in this sense, isn’t about intensity or display, but about what we choose to return to, again and again.

Throughout the month, we’ll continue to sit with these ideas through what we share, what we make, and what we’re learning along the way. Not to arrive at fixed answers, but to stay open to how love can be practiced in quieter, more honest forms.

Happy love month — in its quieter, truer forms.

With care,

The Prickly Pears Sisters 🌿

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For this month, we’re holding a simple reminder close:

To love from a place that feels grounded.To stay connected to ourselves as we give and receive love.To choose what feels honest, rather than impressive.