Love everyday, not just on Valentine’s Day

Someone once said, wisely, that, on Valentine’s Day, you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t.

If you jump into it with gusto, you should remember you’re the commercial Pavlov’s dog, conditioned to react to something which is shallow and only aimed at cynically raking in money.

On the other hand, if you call it this and steadfastly refuse to send cards, flowers or romantic messages, you’ll be regarded as a sad loner.

Why do we need a specific day to remind us about love, that most amazing gift and the thing which makes us so ineffably human?

Love can transcend the romance between two individuals, which is the essence of all the fuss everyone is making today.

It is also the love of a parent for a child, and the love of a child for its parents.

It is the love of siblings for each other; it is the love of ordinary people who selflessly help the less fortunate.

In our pandemic and greed-scarred age, where love is in short supply, we should remember words from the poem Desiderata:

“Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, it is as perennial as the grass.”