Valentine’s Day is one of my favorite days of the year. Albeit driven by Hallmark, it is the only day solely dedicated to love and all of its amazements. It also happens to be the only day of the year that the majority of folks agree on one very specific thing; love conquers all.
Since the dawn of our species, humans have always sought out a life partner. Whether you believe in human evolution or creationism, the fact is that humanity was never meant to walk this Earth alone. As a matter of fact, millennia of behavior and research shows that humans cannot exist on their own, no matter how strong or resolute that human might be. That is one of the many reasons the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns had such a detrimental effect on the mental health and wellbeing of our population.
LOVE IT OR HATE IT
Back to that fat little cherub’s day. Depending on where you are in your life, you either love or hate Valentine’s Day. Chances are if you are in a long-term committed relationship, you love it. And the same chances exist that those who recently had their relationship end, or have been single for a while, hate Valentine’s Day. Personally, I love Valentine’s Day for so many reasons, the most important being that I get to spoil my beautiful wife Kylie (who am I kidding…I love to spoil her on any day of the year), usually ending the day with a nice, romantic dinner just for the two of us.
But, in recent years, there have been certain groups of people who have stood out against Cupid’s special day. Yes, there are people who are so against the notion of love that they have focused on creating two days that flank Valentine’s Day; Galentine’s Day on February 13th and Guylentine’s Day on February 15th. Both are designed to celebrate friendships rather than romance.
As an example, on February 13th, Galentine’s Day, is all about women’s friendships. Guylentine’s Day, on February 15th, is about male friendships. In my humble opinion, both days are absurd and desperate attempts for most to hide the fact that they are lonely or unable to find a romantic partner. However, there are those that genuinely don’t believe in monogamy or love and those days are actually perfect for them.
I know you will find this hard to believe, but I am at a loss of words for those that continue to shame such a beautiful day. My belief in love, and all of its facets, is a lifelong one. After all, my wife Kylie arrived in the US on June 22, 2002 and I asked her to marry me on June 25th. We’ve been happily married for 22 years.
My parents had a similar story and they’ve been together for over 50 years.
So when I see people bucking the notion that love conquers all, I get a little defensive. And angry.
The endless love songs and ballads of my youth have of course helped further my belief in such an important emotion. The generations of movies, TV shows and books have proven that love, in fact, does conquer all.
And, yes, it is what I used to refer to as “Hollywood Magic” that has made so many believe as well (notice I said “used to” since Hollywood has lost all of its creativity and magic in recent years).
However, it is also important to note that Valentine’s Day is only one day. Two questions I have often asked myself around this time of year come to mind: Why do people wait to celebrate their love on one day? Why aren’t people celebrating that love every day? A phone call with one of our New York Lifestyles Magazine writers this morning reminded me of just how important these two questions are.
The truth is, as I indicated earlier, that I love celebrating my marriage to Kylie every day. Does it always work out that way? No. Do I still make the effort? Yes. And that is what is seemingly missing from today’s world.
THE FINAL WORD
Celebrate your love every day, not just on some made up, commercial holiday. Celebrate the union, commitment or even just the emotion on the daily because tomorrow is never a guarantee. Today, however, is. To be a little cliché: Carpe Diem, my friends. Happy Valentine’s Day!