Happy Saint Valentine’s Day
Indeed, as all well know, it is a day to celebrate love, perhaps the religious significance of the day has been somewhere lost in time, of that martyr Valentine that secretly celebrated weddings at a time when the Roman pagans persecuted the Christians, eventually captured and martyred and then celebrated as a Saint. What remains today is mostly a youthful recurrence marked by flowers and chocolates exchanged between couple in love, and expectations of something special from our loved ones.
If love is one of the core purposes of life, as described by many, what is the end to have a day to remind us that we love and that we are loved? Many voices criticise and attack this day as hypocritical, commercial, and unfairly depressing for single people. Could be they are right, and yet this does not diminish the importance of celebration. Every accomplishment, achievement and victory is something that needs to be celebrated, as celebration is an acknowledgement of how important that is to us, gives it value, makes it special and is a sign of having reached something as a result for your efforts. What achievement is greater than falling in love with someone, and then being in love together? To overcome the obstacles and difficulties being in a relationship means, and cherish the joys, passion and happiness it gives? That deserves a celebration indeed just as do birthdays, obtaining a degree, new year’s day and many more. Finding love (and being found by love) is indeed one of the greatest accomplishments in human life, and if there is a specific day to celebrate we are alive and present, birthdays, why not dedicate a day to remind ourselves of the fortune of being in someone’s heart while this person is in ours? Love truly does deserve to be celebrated, and does not mean financial investment in a massive bouquet or those specially crafted chocolates, find your own unique way of celebration and how to make it truly meaningful, as this day is here a reminder of what sometimes we can take for granted and forget to be grateful for.
On another note, love is a feeling that goes beyond the one between human beings, that same passion, faster heartbeat, head in the clouds feeling, uncontrollable euphoria and sensing mutual desire is something that also occurs between you and the community you belong too, expressing mutual gratitude and love for all you have done, are doing and will do for one another and being reminded of the passion that drives you. Just well can be applied to the natural non-human world, you don’t believe me? Regardless of your relationship status, take a walk outside, even better run, roll, go crazy and feel the connection to everything into the rhythm of your heartbeat, and then compare it to how it felt the last time you said, or heard “I love you”.
Rescogita is a startup that focuses on education through training, coaching, capacity building and consulting, grounded on the principles of ecopsychology, meaning in identifying practical solutions to affect the wellbeing of the individual, the community and the biosphere in a single approach.