I read a number of things this morning with regards to love. Some of them were the things we typically think about that would be written inside a card. One I read was, love grows stronger through the years because love is based on respect for another and as our respect grows so does our love. What does Valentine’s Day mean to you? Why do people place such importance on it?
Most people think of this as a day of love and expressing love. Do you remember back in elementary school when this day rolled around and classmates would hand out Valentine’s? The teachers in my school all tried hard to have envelopes for us to place cards in for our classmates. Typically, they were off to the side somewhere so that you weren’t supposed to be able to see who was putting valentines in whose envelope. As an adult I know they were doing this so students that got fewer valentines wouldn’t feel bad. Do you think that worked? It was a nice thought but really … we were kids. If you were one of the popular kids, you got a ton. Do you think you didn’t tell anyone how many you received? Of course you did and everyone in the class knew who got the least. It could be quite hurtful for a little girl.
Do you think that giving valentines should be banned in school? Isn’t that just hiding the real issue it creates under a rock? In my opinion that’s not the answer. How about we continue to make steps toward teaching our kids that judgement of others is a horrible path because it leads to things like teasing and bullying. It really can harm someone’s self-esteem and cause damage that can take years to reverse.
My husband and I don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day as a rule. The reason for this is we believe that loving each other every day is far more important. Why reserve it for a special day, once a year? It brings me great joy to know every day that my husband knows how much I love him and care about him.
As I’m writing this, I’m reminded of a conversation with a waiter at one of my favourite restaurants. My husband and I went for dinner a couple of days after Valentines. The waiter said to us, “I knew you wouldn’t be in for dinner on Valentine’s Day. I bet you cooked a nice dinner at home and just spent time together.”
We told him he was right.
He laughed and said, “it’s funny … typically the people that come out on Valentine’s Day are those awkward couples. You know the ones that have nothing to say to each other, but they think it is expected of them to go out and show everyone that they love each other.”
The waiter then smiled and said, “That’s why I knew you wouldn’t be here because every time you come in and I serve you I can see the love between you, and you have endless conversation. I can tell how much you love each other.”
I told you that story because sharing love is a wonderful thing but it shouldn’t be contained to one day and it should be shared in the open. When you open and share your love and heart with another it affects people around you. For me I would rather share in my husband’s love everyday not just each year on February 14th.
So since today is February 14th and it is a day to express love, let’s make a pack to show our love and heart to at least one person. But let’s make this into an exponential experience and continue to show that love each day until next February 14th. I would love to know how different you feel next February 14th as compared to today. Leave your comments to share how you showed your love.
