Well this is the week we celebrate Valentine’s Day. It is a lovely holiday mostly geared towards those in romantic relationships. Though there are many stories of where the holiday came from, most agree that it was the catholic church’s attempt to replace a roman goddess of fertility celebration with something a bit more chaste.
Whatever the origins, it can be a hard time for those who are without a significant other. There are many people who spend this evening alone, and just as many reasons. Some are widowed, some divorced. Some single still looking. Seeing all the fuss about romance can be difficult when you do not have a romantic partner.
However, that doesn’t have to be the case. This is a holiday for celebrating love and love comes in many different ways. Familial love, Friendship love, love for your fellow humans, as well as self-love. I’v often thought that it would be good for us to focus more broadly (see how I worked part of the name for our blog into this;) on love in general rather than romance in particular in this month. It could be great time to promote doing acts of kindness and spending time with those you love.
One way to celebrate Valentine’s Day is to go and hang out with friends who are as equally unattached as you. It could be great time to have singles events where you get to meet people, or to just go have dinner with friends. If you are part of a professional community, you could host an event where those who don’t have other plans could come out and enjoy the camaraderie of the community.
You could also hang out with your family and celebrate the love you share with them. Sure, there are other holidays specifically geared towards the celebration of family (Thanksgiving for example), but that doesn’t mean you couldn’t spend V’Day with loved ones too. And don’t forget your pets are loved and they are really the ones that return that love most unconditionally of all.
But beyond all this, if you don’t have a special someone, remember that YOU are a special someone. You can celebrate yourself. Don’t wait for someone else to send you flowers; buy your own. Want candy? Shop. Sure it is nice to get these from a partner, but you can celebrate yourself. Plus it is not a bad time to reflect on the qualities you hope to find in a good partner and assess your journey of self development, though be careful here that you don’t get into a depression.
If you do have a someone to celebrate with, enjoy and be happy. But don’t forget to send some notes of love to friends you know may be alone. When we were in school, we bought Valentine cards for everyone in our class — remember? Might be good to return to this idea of sending friends a little something when we know they are alone.