What is Valentine's Day but an ancient memory of St. Valentine, with nothing else known of him except that he was buried on the Via Flaminia on this day? Yes, legends would say that he would conduct marriages for young men, and had written the first "valentine's letter" (well, technically it was) addressed to the blind daughter of his jailer Asterius, signing as "from your Valentine". But then again, those were just legends.
What is Valentine's Day but another day to celebrate mediocrity of life? Much like monthsaries and weeksaries that celebrate the little time of a relationship (considering that most of them last far less than a year), it's mind-boggling on why it's such a big deal.
For many, it's just another Tuesday. Putting an "Independence Day" or "Forever Alone" hashtag in each and every tweet, trying not to sound bitter or worse: desperate, and constantly wondering why this holiday exists.
It exists because we ought to be reminded that we will always be in the arms of love. While there may be no historical fact to dig in to and believe, on this day and all other days we celebrate "life's mediocrities" are always special. Wait, scratch that. Life will never be mediocre. LIFE should always be celebrated. This day exists because people forget.
People forget that love isn't like the movies. It doesn't end after that glorious "yes" or "I do". It's not always going to be happy. We (yes, I'm including myself) watch too much of those romantic flicks that make us believe in the perfection of life, that everything will work out JUST because we're the hero/heroine. In the movies, dialogues were written with the right words, dreamt by writers who felt that this is what SHOULD have been and SHOULD BE. The perfect scenario was that after the girl rants and cries about something that makes totally no sense, the oh-so-gwapo dream guy runs after her. Well, we have no Oscar-winning script writer to dictate to us the right words to say. We have no Grammy-winning music director to craft that perfect background music to create the right atmosphere and moment. We're no Jason Mraz or Bruno Mars to know the right songs to sing. Our life is something we direct, and it only works out if we do it right.
People also forget that Valentine's isn't just for "couples". We will always be in a relationship with He who is GREATER than all of us. We will always have that responsibility to radiate our love to those in need, especially to those who don't have the time and ability (or wouldn't even have the account) to selfishly rant on Twitter, and to those who have nothing. We will never be SINGLE. We were not made to be lonely.
You may choose to still shun yourself from society and all that is happy today because you are reminded of all your "failed" relationships. Okay, you go do your thing. But it's best you know, there are no failed relationships. Every person who enters and exits your life does so in a mutual sharing of life's lessons. It shouldn't make us people with hearts of stone, it should make us stronger.
You may feel afraid that you might "suffer" when you engage in a relationship. "Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dream," says Paulo Coelho.
Valentine's Day is made to remind everyone that there is always someone out there who deserves us and vice versa! You won't be ready for the right guy/girl, until you become the right person (who accepts and loves yourself, your faults and all).
Love grows by giving. The love we give away is the only love we keep. The only way to retain love is to give it away. - Elbert Hubbard
Give all the love you can today. I ♥ YOU!
♥, Cat
