How to Make Valentine’s Day More Meaningful
Valentine’s Day isn’t just about romance. It’s a celebration of love.
Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day. The stores are filled with heart-shaped candy boxes, you can’t escape the jewellery and flower advertisements and even the Starbucks cups get in on the V-Day action.
For many Valentine’s Day is all about romance and the opportunity to do something special for the one they love.
For others Valentine’s Day is an unwelcomed reminder of love lost or not-yet-found. Still others resent the pressure to come up with just the right gift or gesture to “prove” their love.
It is supposed to be a holiday of happiness and warmth but for many it ends up being a day of stress.
If this tweaks a nerve for you, you can of course simply keep in mind it’s just 24 hours in your life, suck it up and do your best, or you could risk ignoring Valentine’s Day all together. Or you could choose to make Valentine’s Day more meaningful.
How to embrace your inner romantic and make it your own special day to honor ALL the different kinds of love in your life.
Gifts aside, why not take the time to have a heartfelt conversation with the one you love … and really listen. Focus on how special your partner is to you. Think about who he or she really is. What makes them smile? What are they truly passionate about? What little things could you do that would make them feel more loved?
If you don’t have a partner at the moment, grab a friend or two, take a day trip, enjoy a happy hour, spend some quality time with your pet or try something new. Nothing is more rewarding than doing a good deed for a stranger … smile at everyone you meet and wish them a Happy Valentine’s Day, call or visit someone who is lonely, or simply tell a good friend you are grateful to have him/her in your life. Above all, bring your focus back to the intended meaning of this holiday – to show others you love and care about them.
Don’t forget you!
Among the most important relationships you’ll ever have is the one you have with yourself - maybe a cliché but oh, so true. Do something nice for yourself. Take a little time to appreciate your strengths and your beauty, your flaws and your imperfections because there is only one of you … and you are precious.
As my special Valentine’s Day Gift to you, here are a few random inspirational thoughts on the complex nature of love and all of the opportunities you have in your life to express love.
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Mahalo!
Great post, you make an excellent point. I am in a serous relationship, and we are both very happy together, and very much in love. Yet I can’t help but be a little annoyed by Valentine’s Day. I understand the opportunity to do something nice for the one you love, but I resent the expectations and pressure. I guess you need to try and ignore the pressure, and use Valentine’s day as a chance to show your partner how you feel about them. Thanks for the advice!
I had a great time this valentines day! I guess, what really is important is not the way how we celebrated this special day, but the person whom I celebrated with. Moreover, I like your thoughts about finding the love within you. That love is undeniably great among the love you can get from other people.
Timothy recently posted..Important Information on Mold Removal Companies
For me, there is no material thing can be greater than giving your loved ones a true and genuine love.
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Twitter: KevinMartineau
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Hi Marty:
Great thoughts here! I so agree with you about Valentines Day. It doesn’t just have to be about romantic love. It can be a reminder of all the love that we have in our lives.
Also, I loved your video!
Thanks!
Kevin
Kevin Martineau recently posted..Love is a commitment
Love to you, Marty!
One way to love oneself is to be generous with others. “Make someone happy, and you will be happy too.”
On Valentine’s day I gave a bouquet of flowers to be placed in the lobby of the local Regions Bank, where the personnel have been amazingly courteous and helpful to me. I also slipped a high quality chocolate bar to the head teller, who has always made me feel important. Showing my gratitude to them made ME feel good. I loved myself more by giving love to others.
Love is a wonderful asset; the more you give, the more you have! It is unlimited…
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I give small stuff out… not much of a Valentine’s Day person. However, I like to write a poem for my boyfriend and give a card to my son that says what I feel.
Conversation is definitely a must in my book as all relationships no matter what kind keep going with it. Letting them know your thoughts of them is a real nice touch.
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Thank you, Marty, for the wonderful post about Valentine’s Day!
I gave the presents, but maybe I should take your advice and have a nice conversation as well.
Also, you did a great job on the video!
Happy Valentine’s Day to you.
Nathan
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Welcome Nathan – so glad you took the time to visit and share your thoughts … and thanks for your kind encouragement about the video
Twitter: aharmonyhealing
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Hi Marty, Happy Valentine’s Day! I think VD should be spent celebrating the love you share with your significant other if you are in a relationship and not be so focused in on gift giving. I also like your point about spending this day to honor all the different kinds of love you have in your life and being grateful to have love along with celebrating loving yourself. Thanks for sharing these inspiring thoughts
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Hey Shelley, thanks so much for visiting and sharing your thoughts – glad you enjoyed the article!
Love is certainly a commendable thing to honor on any day of the year, but the tradition of honoring romantic love on a particular day is probably more out of commercial interests than anything nostalgic.
That said, it’s a good day to be reminded of our partner or spouse, and all that that person means to us and does for us every day of the year.
As you point out, Marty, many people can reflect also on just friendships and other types of love in their life, even if they have no “significant” other to spend it with.
Don’t you just love all the stress that days of celebration saddle us with
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Hey David … thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts – always appreciated. I have to admit I’ve never given Valentine’s Day a whole lot of thought one way or the other – but I took today as a “planning” day and did a lot of research online. No surprises – there is a love/hate relationship out there about the day … but here’s what it triggered for me. I agree it’s highly commercial – but so is Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, you name it – and yet the one holiday that seems to push buttons is Valentine’s Day. Interesting don’t you think?
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I celebrated the Valentine’s just a home but I gave something special to my wife and my daughter
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Hummm, maybe you were thinking you were on another website – because I’m not Erica.
Valentines is the day we just commemorate the love we shared to each other not only to our couples or in relationship but its also for the families that we have. I’m so touch, my son gave a heart saying ‘thanking for everything and ‘I love you’.
Valentine’s Day is the day where couples should have a special time with each other…Thanks for the shared post here then…
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Twitter: DrErica
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Marty,
You are so right. I always emphasize the importance of coming back to yourself, loving your own self first – no matter what the outer circumstance appear to be in your life. Friends and lovers may come and go and the only one you can ever truly rely upon is YOU. Be your own best friend. Be your own lover. Send yourself a loving card. Buy yourself flowers. And then share the love you feel for yourself with others.
Have a happy and loving Valentine’s Day.
Warmly,
Dr. Erica
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