Valentines day. A day which some rejoice in and others loath. Rooted in the ancient roman tradition of Lupercalia in which naked young men spanked young maidens to boost their fertility, the pagan festivities have changed drastically into the celebration of love that we know of today.
Valentine’s Day is now a highly commercialised circus optimised with candle lit dinners, fancy chocolates and sending someone a dozen roses at hugely inflated prices. But what happens when the roses have died and the chocolates have all been gobbled up?
We have lost the deeper and more profound meaning of this day which is about LOVE, sharing and giving.
It is about sharing time with those you love, treating them where you see fit but most importantly making sure that they know how much you love and appreciate them.
Love can come in many forms, the love between a couple, between siblings, the love for your children and your parents, even the love for your pets, but who many people forget, and perhaps the most important person to love, is yourself. We remind and reassure our loved ones, of our love, almost everyday through words or actions, but how often can you say that you do the same for yourself? How often do you treat yourself without feeling guilty? How often do you tell yourself “I love you” ? When was the last time you thought about yourself and did something just for you?
Whilst it is important to show the significant people in our lives that we love and appreciate them, Valentine's day is also a good day to reflect upon whether we are loving and appreciating ourselves enough too. It is a day in which we can ask ourselves are we putting ourselves first enough? Are we looking after ourselves as we would our husbands, wives, girlfriends, boyfriends, children and parents?
Loving yourself is about making a commitment to treat yourself better. It is about noticing what is going on with your mind and body and making a change when something is off. Making sure that you are having enough me time and dealing with issues as they arise to prevent problems building up and allowing ourselves to become run down, in pain and stressed.
Valentines day has changed a lot since the Roman times, and hopefully for some it can change again, to become a day for not only treating and loving your significant other but also for loving yourself.
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