Send Out Love

...to get it back.

Giving out a message to send out some love will sound bogus to some, because modern society has made love big business.

Coffee chain Starbucks has begun asking its UK customers their names in a bid to appear more friendly. They're giving away free coffee to promote this new campaign, and trying to make an economic transaction seem more friendly could end up showing them as fake, but what the heck - they're trying to send out some love.

Besides what's in a name? Well, what we call something seems to matter a lot. The issue with calling same-sex legal unions as marriages is fraught with contention, but hey, if you look at it in a commercial sense, you've just allowed more of the population the opportunity to officially splash out the cash on their big day. Wedding planners will be wowed. Or you could be less cynical and see it as the law recognising that there are many different faces to love.

And not just different faces, but there are many different facets to love, too. Our pets give us unconditional love. My twin cats Davey and Goliath are so protective of me, it's like having two extra men in the house. They patrol about like lions (so much so I actually considered changing Golaith's name to Daniel) and they consider it their whiskered duty to take care of me in many ways. But maybe it isn't love, maybe I just buy the best cat food and they know they're on to a good deal with free meals every day, so that's why they stick around.

But to me, my cats are a very real part of my family, and I firmly believe the best way to give back to your pets is to love them unconditionally. I dote on them, hug them, play with them and thank them for taking on the baggage that comes with being part of a family. We forget that our pets take on our toxins, which can make them sick. Other things can make them ill as well. If there is tension between human members of a family, they feel it, too.

Davey and Golaith aren't just animals between my feet, they've given me companionship, and it's only right to give back to your pets since they give so much to you. Having a pet is the best example of how sending out love returns back to the owner, which isn't made bogus by any financial incentive. The love of an animal, especially for single people, can be very healing. Or when you've lost a beloved pet, although they can't be replaced, taking care of another animal can help with the natural healing process during grieving.

Cassie's story

When I first met my twin flame, he was looking after a golden retriever with leukaemia he had rescued from a bad home. The vets had only given her a week to live. Cassie was absolutely smitten with my man, and a little wary of me when I first came on to the scene, but I sent out my love to her, and in time as I gained her trust, she returned that love. About six months into the relationship, Cassie died from her illness.

We were not the perfect parents, yet the vets were amazed at how long she'd lived and asked us what our secret was. I just told them that we fed her healthy, and gave her lots of love - that's the best form of hands on healing. During the weeks after Cassie's loss, my other half was distraught. Davey and Golaith seemed to sense this, and my lions quickly included him into their pride. Whenever he came home, they would jump on to his lap, walk across his shoulders and purr into his ear. Their presence helped him to get through the death of Cassie.

We were talking about her only the other day, and my twin flame put forward the theory that he hadn't rescued her, but that really Cassie had rescued him. He had hit a lonely dip in his life after a previous relationship went sour when he'd found Cassie and decided to care for her.

And he reminded me how if it hadn't been for Cassie, we might never have met.

"She brought me to you. Stayed around long enough to make sure you were the one, and then left. Job done," he said.

And I believe such love is an indisputable fact of life - as coffee is to Starbucks - and that if you send our your love, someone, somewhere, will pick up your call.

Yours in love,