If, however, you are single and dread it when February 14 comes around, hear me out before you drown your sorrows in a tub of double Belgian chocolate flavoured ice cream.
Valentine’s Day is upon us and I think devoting this day to the recognition of love is a wonderful idea, but I do wish the romantic aspect could be toned down a bit.
Don’t get me wrong, like most young women, I am a hopeless romantic and have spent every Valentine’s Day for the past few years out on a romantic dinner, delighting in the heart-shaped chocolates and flowers as much as anyone else.
I’ve just always wondered what if this day could mean, more than just telling a person, who already knows, they mean a lot to you.
I feel that the promotion of this day is stealing society’s perception of love.
Why do we acknowledge only the romantic form of love on this day, when there are so many other things in the world to love?
Commencing this month, I would like to start appreciating areas of love in my life other than just the romantic part, and encourage fellow citizens to do the same.
Here are a few ideas I have for this concept:
How about baking your friends some cupcakes to say thank you for all the good times?
Take your grandparents out to lunch and thank them for all the years that they’ve loved you in that warm, fuzzy way that only a grandparent can.
Keep a bunch of flowers at hand for the day and hand out a blossom to random folk whom you pass by.
If you are a fan of the Spongebob Squarepants show, wear your Spongebob shirt with pride on this day.
Give your boss a six-pack of beer or a bunch of flowers, to say thank you for enduring all the grey hair you are causing him/her.
If you love music as much as I do, put your favourite song on repeat on your ipod and make a little twirl down the aisle of the supermarket.
— Because life is too short and beautiful to get caught up in only one kind of love.
I also believe that your romantic love for that special someone should be expressed every day and not on just one day of the year.
For those of you who are curious about the origin of Valentine’s Day, here is the most famous legend:
St Valentine was a Roman priest in the third century who secretly married couples after marriage was outlawed for young men who were serving as soldiers, by Emperor Claudius II, who believed it was a distraction to them.
Valentine was caught and imprisoned and legend has it he sent out the first Valentine, signed “Your Valentine”, to his jailor Asterius’s daughter, with whom he fell in love, before he was executed — very romantic.
I encourage you to just have fun on this day and spread the warmth of love all around and hope that you, too, will appreciate every source of love in your life this Valentine’s Day.
To the whole of Benoni: Happy Valentine’s Day, all my love, xoxo TB.
