Valentines Day - celebration or commiseration ?

A day of celebration of love or just another reason for retailers to extract money from our already overstretched budgets?

February 14th here we are yet again. Local shops, stores and grocery outlets are buzzing with activity. Roses by the dozen, chocolates and gifts, no expense spared in an effort to show the one we love how much they mean to us.

But do we really need to show our affection to one another in such a manner? Surely our actions toward one another says so much more than any gift can? Are we simply being manipulated via media and marketing to be part of a campaign to feel included?

By not purchasing merchandise, cards, gifts, luxury vacations, jewellery and meals out we appear as not loving or unappreciative of our other half, but in reality are we participating out of choice or obligation?

And what do those who are not in a relationship feel? Are they excluded from this fiasco? Isn't it a little insensitive to have a day where only those in- love can feel good?

For me after 35 years of marriage not to be a killjoy but I'm kind of over it all. The expense and drama of it is all a little too much for me. For me love is not an emotion, but more of a mirror image of how one feels. Our love for someone else is a personal feeling and how we show it should not be dedicated to just one day. Love should be shown every day, it should not be harnessed and it should not be an obligation nor should it be a pressure placed on us to show the outside world how we feel or don't as the case may be, we must learn to move away from the social media need to portray the perfect life just for a photo opportunity. Love is so much more than a selfie, it is a moment to share intimately with the person that means the most to us in the moment, this is not a moment to keep up with the joneses , what appeals to me should not be the same for you and vice versa.

When did we all become so shallow and feel the need to have someone else dictate how we show our love for one another. Love is a personal choice , who we express it with, how we express it is a very unique experience to each of us , that is what makes falling in love such a sought after experience.

According to history the Romans are the cheerleaders in the romantic department. Not really a huge surprise.

Turns out, Valentine was a pretty common name during Late Antiquity. As far as anyone can tell, the Saint Valentine of Valentine's Day was one of two guys preaching the good word in Rome in the third century. One of these two was martyred on February 14th 269, thus giving us the date for his eponymous day.14 Feb 2022.

So while we indulge in copious amounts of chocolate, drink bottles of the sparkly stuff and fall in love with the gifts we receive , perhaps it's a good time to be grateful for what we have and think about the person sitting across from us and was it an obligatory gift or a genuine gift from the heart.

Happy valentines

xx

Lei

YOU ARE NOT A DROP IN THE OCEAN. YOU ARE THE ENTIRE OCEAN IN A DROP - RUMI