Today is acclaimed to be Saint Valentine’s Day. The day love is celebrated. The day love is expressed more than any other day. The day florists, jewellers, perfumes and even chocolate sell the most. It is one of the busiest days in the year for people in the restaurant business. Even the travel industry benefits from February 14th.
But apart from receiving or giving material gifts, what do you get from this date? What are the reasons and lessons behind his day?
We have now been conditioned to associate the concept of Love with material things like flowers, gifts, dinners and trips, but we should realise that the only kind of Love that is true and endures the test of time and life is the Godly kind of love. We should know that this kind of love is unconditional.
But, isn’t it true that the more we are focused on this human “romantic and commercialised love”, the more unrealistic, alien and unattainable the concept of unconditional love becomes.
And, even more importantly, we must realise that the more the world and its system encourages us to show Love on a single day, the less we realise we need to show it EVERY day.
In my early twenties, Saint Valentine’s Day had a different meaning for me. It was the day to exchange love gifts, and to go out with your better half. It was the day when most young people do some very silly things, all in the name of love. But, as I get older, I am redefining Valentine’s Day, what it means to me and what I want to do.
I have learnt that before you can genuinely love another, you must love God first, and you must love yourself. I have also learnt that life revolves around this simple commandment; ” Love you neighbour as you love yourself”. Sounds simple, but you will agree with me that this actually involves two complex commandments:
- Love yourself.
- Love your neighbour with equal fervour.
If you don’t keep the first commandment, forget about the second. It is as simple as that.
When I talk about loving yourself, I mean accepting yourself unconditionally, but also believing in yourself, being patient with yourself as you grow stronger and better. I mean having faith in what you can achieve and celebrating every single day of your life and every single achievement or blessing you’ve received.
The truth is that people who love themselves are more self-confident. They are more accepting and tolerant of others, more generous and more patient. Loving yourself make you more accepting of the fact that no one is perfect. Loving yourself stops from making unrealistic demands on love and the people who give it to you.
Above all, when you love yourself, you make it easier for others to love you.
So, one more year, as we celebrate another Valentine’s Day and the media is replete with adverts and suggestions on how to show the people in your life that you love them, I have decided not to join the bandwagon.
This is because I had made the choice to celebrate not just the people in my life, but rather to daily celebrate the grace to love and to be loved in return. I have chosen to reflect on what love means and how best to show it and to share in a world that is hurting. I am thinking of how best to reach out and to help add a splash or even a touch of colour and love to the lives of the people around me.
I am in love!
Eternally in love with God!
In love with love!
In love with myself!
In love with life!
In love with the people God has blessed myself with!
I choose to celebrate, show and share this love, not only on Valentine’s Day, but every single day of the year.
And today, as we celebrate yet another Valentine’s Day, I want to encourage to love yourself well. To be thankful for love itself. To remember the beauty, the demands and the sacrifices of love.
And today, before you profess undying love to that special someone in your life, there are two people you should absolutely not overlook; God and yourself. Tell God you love Him. And tell yourself how much you love you!
I’d love to know how you are showing love to yourself as well as to the people in your life and how you intend to make every single day of your life Saint Valentine’s Day.
Happy Valentine’s Day to you, today and ever single day.
Great post! And so true – you can’t really love others unless you love yourself first (I don’t mean pampering-style “love”, just appreciating and celebrating your self). It’s so easy just to be tough on yourself, but then you end up being tough on everyone else too.
Indeed, Charlotte. An honest love and appreciation for ourselves is one of the ingredients needed to be both generous and tolerant towards the people in our lives. Thanks!