One of the least romantic days of the year is Valentine's Day. Yes you heard me correctly. The majority of men act like robots, purchasing flowers and chocolate for their sweethearts because that is what everyone else is doing. Many people celebrate the day out of obligation rather than celebration.
Valentines are people who
Are willing to be flowers,
Letting us enjoy their beauty
Even if for hours.
No Valentine hides from the sun,
Though sometimes lost in light.
If you love them, they just open,
Not unhappy to be woken
Even in the night.
Love has no desire but to fulfill itself.
But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires;
To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.
To know the pain of too much tenderness.
To be wounded by your own understanding of love;
And to bleed willingly and joyfully.”
These few words truly capture the real meaning and essence of the beautiful gift endowed upon us by the Lords called love. Love is one strong emotion that consumes every person during their lifetime. Nothing in this world is considered purer and greater than true love and many romantics in history like the Greek port Sapho, Romeo and Juliet and the Indian emperor Shah Jahan have dedicated their entire lives to illustrate the fact. To honor and celebrate this beautiful human emotion, Valentine’s Day is celebrated on the 14th of February every year.
An Imperfect Language:The problem is that we simply don’t have enough words for love in the English language. We have “like” which is just watered-down and kinda lame. We have “adore” which is definitely limited to romantic love and children. But what about the love you have for your girlfriends (or guy friends)? What about the love you have for your parents? For you children? For your crazy Uncle.? For your pitbull Spike? For your job? For yourself? What about the love I have for you, most of whom I’ve never met? Why don’t we have language for these feelings? We could try rewriting the language to more closely reflect the way Eskimos talk about snow, but hey- it’s not my place to reconfigure the language of Shakespeare. So for now, we’ll have to stick to what we’ve got.
Say I LOVE YOU Out Loud:
Let’s just do it, Express your love to those you care about. Say it to your family. Say it to your best friend. Say it to yourself in a mirror. Say it to the Universe. Practice saying it until it rolls off your tongue. Who doesn’t want to live in love? And hey- it’s Valentine’s Day. Do it just because. Do it freely. Offer love like hot tea on a cold day. Nurture others with your fresh, beautiful spirit. Don’t be shy. They want it. I swear- they want it, even if they look askance and change the subject. Expect nothing in return. Just live in love. And watch what happens.
That little disclaimer aside, I'd love to wish all of you lots of love today. I love you.
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