This month is Black History Month and Valentine’s Day! This is a month of love, when we stop and show our love and appreciation for the contributions of Black Americans. Then there is, Valentine’s Day. A day that many spend a lot of money to demonstrate their love for others.
I have never been a big fan of Valentine’s Day. Okay, yes, I admit it 😊. It all seems very forced and commercialized. When I was a child, I was always nervous for the other children in my classroom on this day. Although, the teacher instructed us to give everyone a “Valentine” ultimately, there were a couple of students in the class that didn’t receive as many as the others and sadness would soon overtake them. I didn’t like seeing my classmates sad. Of course, I would share mine with them and give them my candy, just to try to lighten their mood. The flip side were the students that didn’t have the resources to buy the popular character Valentine’s and they made ones to give away and kids laughed at them, or even threw them in the garbage. Then in middle school, the Valentine Day carnation delivery and the students that didn’t get a carnation or never went to the dance. It was just too much for me to witness the sadness. Yep, too much heartbreak on a day that was supposedly about love and care.
Fast forward many years later, and my husband and I really caught on to a slogan we heard, “Every day is Valentine’s Day”. No, it doesn’t mean that you need to buy a gift every day or the obligatory chocolates and red themed hearts. It is deeper. It’s intentionally letting people in our lives know that we love them, appreciate them, adore them and are grateful that they share this world with us.
Life is too short, and I am realizing this now more than ever. It is important for us to go beyond the Valentine hype to the heart of the matter. Our lives have been aligned with family, friends, and acquaintances for a purpose. Each encounter ushers in an occasion for us to experience life together. As we are creating, experiencing, loving, living, forgiving, crying, expanding, and becoming let’s stop and honor the love that we have for each other. The love of showing up for each other. The love of forgiveness. The love of supporting each other’s visions to fruition. The love of knowing when to push and when to allow silence to speak. The love of providing space to grow and thrive.
This month may the love that you have in your heart, be expressed intentionally throughout the year. Let’s use the same energy that’s used to plan the perfect Valentine’s Day, to plan the daily expression of love for each other. Isn’t everyday Valentine’s Day? Yes, it is!
~KDP #HappyValentinesDay #Love #ILoveYou #BeyondFeb14 #StrongandBeautiful