Fett and I are not Valentine’s Day people.

It’s not that we don’t like to be romantic. (Actually, Fett is often mushier than me!) And it’s not that we don’t want to take the time to appreciate each other. We do this daily! We just don’t need a pressure-filled, mandated day to do it.

I told Fett years ago, “please, DON’T buy me roses on Valentine’s Day! Pick any innocuous Tuesday and that’s fine with me. I love roses and would be thrilled to be surprised with them. Just not on a day where it’s expected. And not on a day when it’ll cost 4 times as much!”

We’re not typical. We know that. (And by now, most of you have probably figured that out too.)

But we do love the concept of LOVE.

In fact, my word for the year is LOVE. I never choose a word for the year. But this year, the word kind of jumped out and grabbed me. Mostly because it can be applied in sooooo many different ways… Love for your significant other, Love of yourself, Surrounding yourself with things you Love, Love for a pet, Love of music, Loooove of chocolate! You get the idea.

I use it now as my touchstone. Or a grounding wire, if you will. It’s an easy way to get me out of my head where my over-active, over-thinking brain can often send me into a tizzy.

I used it recently when I found myself in a difficult situation. Instead of just “reacting,” I asked myself “If I approach this with LOVE, how would I respond?” This simple little word and technique allowed me to see the situation – and my options for responding – in a completely different light. I was able to respond calmly and lovingly, while still maintaining my own boundaries and integrity. I felt good and the “situation” that my head was envisioning never materialized!

It was pretty cool.

So, all of this LOVE talk got me to thinking… I’d really like to spread some LOVE this Valentine’s Day!  And specifically some “Unconditional Love.”

“Unconditional Love” by Nancy Moran
from her CD Something Old, Something New

I wrote the song “Unconditional Love” as a genuine and sincere wish…to everyone…everywhere.

Yeah, that might seem a little sappy. But it’s true.

Well…I say “I wrote the song.” But actually, this is one of those songs that I had very little to do with. Mostly, I got out of the way and channeled something greater than myself. So, I feel like this song has always had a power all on its own.

It’s on my Live album, Something Old Something New.  And you can listen to it above in the player.

And here’s the thing…

I could simply ask you to share this recording with your friends and family. I could ask you to share the post. If I was really smart, I’d make a YouTube video of it so I could rack up views or hope that it goes viral.

But instead, I’d like to INVITE YOU TO PARTICIPATE.

Over the years, I’ve had numerous requests from people who wanted to play the song at a wedding or life celebration or church service or even just at their gigs. And the coolest thing is when someone else sends me THEIR recording (i.e. their interpretation) of this song!

Here are three different versions that I know of:

The Four Bitchin’ Babes – www.fourbitchinbabes.com – from their Hormonal Imbalance CD
(This is the group I performed with for 8 years and still do some gigs with today.)

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Rich Baumann – www.richbaumann.com
Rich performs in schools, senior centers, libraries, coffeehouses, house concerts and more!

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Jack Chomsky (English-Hebrew version) – www.tiferethisrael.org/cantors-corner.html
Jack is a cantor who did this super cool version that combines my song with selections from some Jewish prayers in Hebrew.

Now, I’d love to hear YOUR version!

It doesn’t have to be slick or professionally recorded. Heck, you can use your phone for all I care!

And you don’t need to be a professional musician or singer to do this. As Joni Mitchell once said to her audience, “the more out-of-tune voices, the better!”

Remember, the power is in the message of the song. And, as you can see by the versions above, we each have a different interpretation.

So, if you want to sing it with your choir – great!

Or play it on piano – super!

Wanna rock it on zither? – Go for it!

Maybe do a Hip-Hop version? or Bluegrass? Or EDM? Or Dubstep? – Totally cool!

Or perhaps you want to put together a motivational video with my original version instead? Or do a little dance number to it?

Whatever inspires you to spread a little “Unconditional Love.”

I want to hear it, see it, experience it and best of all…share it!

Send me your recordings as MP3’s. And include your name, a 100×100 photo, and a website that I can link to.

Send them to Love (at) azaleamusic dot com. I’ll compile them and post them here on our website. I’ll share them on Facebook and Twitter. We’ll start an Unconditional Love revolution! 🙂

Let’s spread a little – or A LOT OF – LOVE! The world can never have too much!

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

Photo Credit: Gavin Whitner, 2014. musicoomph.com