“To love is to accept a soul entirely, not wishing that the person was otherwise, nor hoping for change, nor clinging to some ideal past.”
— Richelle E. Goodrich, Smile Anyway: Quotes, Verse, & Grumblings for Every Day of the Year
For the majority of us, we’re only given one chance to fully experience a genuine, honest love with another person. The sad reality is that far too often time makes us unconsciously forget just how memorable, how valuable, how immeasurable that feeling truly is.
Though definitions vary, love has commonly been defined as “a strong, complex emotion or feeling causing one to appreciate, delight in and crave the presence of another”. The ability to give and receive love has little or nothing to do with an exchange of gifts, and yet so many of us believe that buying in to the commercialization that is Valentine’s Day someone proves our recognition of love.
In 2014 it was estimated that Valentine’s Day spending would reach an astounding $17.3 billion dollars – with the average person alone shelling out $133.91. That’s an insane amount of money.
“To love is to cherish the individual standing before you presently—charms, quirks, and all. To love is to give someone a piece of your heart that you will never, ever reclaim.”
— Richelle E. Goodrich
I’ve long argued that celebrating the feeling of love on one day is truly irrelevant and contrived if you can’t find reasons to celebrate it all year long. Purchasing materials deemed appropriate by an over-commercialized society requires no real effort, just money, and often has fleeting impacts in our instant gratification society.
There should be no expectations on February 14th. No hopes for expensive gifts, lavish dinners and flowers that are purposely overpriced one day, then drastically reduced the next. Instead your expectations should focus on the ordinary days of life – the times when your love and affection is shown in simplistic, heartwarming ways with incredible meaning. Couples who can celebrate those moments have been fortunate to discover true, ever-enduring love.
“Love—such a keen mystery prone to pierce and shatter the delicate heart. Yet it possesses more strength, power, and influence than any other magic known to man. ”
— Richelle E. Goodrich
Here’s hoping you’ve found the “magic” in your life and that you continually remember that the celebration of true love is not limited by just one day.
