Commercialised ‘holidays’ are not my favourite. That’s no news. But they’re there and difficult to change or ignore, so how can we instead make them better and more relevant?
Valentine’s for example is one I’ve pretty much never ‘celebrated’, not when I’ve been single and not when I’ve been in a relationship. Buying random stuff for the sake of it or falling for companies / restaurants’ overpriced Valentine’s ‘offers’ isn’t something I’m planning on doing this year either (and that’s not just because my boyfriend’s decided to head down to Malmö to watch football on Valentine’s night…). Instead, I’m planning on doing nice things just for myself (for the whole weekend whilst he’s away) but it’s also got me thinking about the wider concept of Valentine’s.
Sharing the love
Valentine’s is widely seen as a lovers’ holiday to celebrate romantic love, but in Sweden the day goes under the name ‘Alla hjärtans dag’, which means ‘All Hearts’ Day’ and could potentially be seen as more of a day of love. Which to be honest is probably a nicer way to look at it, rather than a collective cheese fest for couples.
Because spreading a bit of love around our planet is definitely something we could all do a bit more of. Celebrating Valentine’s with our family, or a bunch of friends, or by volunteering at a homeless centre, is therefore maybe a good option. Telling the people you love that you love them, or sharing the love with those who rarely get it.
Loving ourselves to love others
And we shouldn’t forget about ourselves. Especially if we spend a lot of our time caring for others, thinking about others, doing things for others. Maybe Valentine’s is the day to give ourselves a bit of love?
Taking a long, hot bath. Cooking ourselves a nice meal with our favourite ingredients. Wearing something that makes us happy and makes us feel good about ourselves. Going for a long walk. Staying in and having a cosy evening with a book or in front of our favourite TV show.
Or maybe even something a bit more ambitious. Like spending true time on ourselves. Taking the day off to start the day with meditation and a long walk, and to then spend a good amount of time on brainstorming ways to be happier / more satisfied in life. Maybe start a journal to explore what makes you happy and then move into changes you can do to your life, living situation, work situation, relationships, and health, that can improve your life.
Starting with ourselves and ensuring we’re happy with what we’re doing and the way we’re living our life is always going to be key when it comes to then being able to love others. And this obviously goes way beyond Valentine’s. We should love ourselves on all days, all year ’round.
“Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world”
– Lucille Ball
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