You ever think back to what Valentine’s Day was for/abt when we were kids in school, & how that differs from what we think of as adults?
The earliest I can remember being engaged in Valentine’s Day is 1st grade. We were told to make cards – for everyone in our class. Even at that age, some of the targets of the arrows in my quiver were specific…even then, there were young & innocent crushes…but the beauty of it all was that we were encouraged to make something (even if our parents had to help), for every single person in class. Everyone got some of our love – our best friends, the shy kid, the teacher, even the class aide.
Compare that to the images we see from Madison Ave as adults, when it comes to this day each yr. It’s almost exclusively couples-focused. Dinners eaten together, jewelry purchased, flowers given, in some case even cars gifted. Why? It appears pretty obvious – it’s a day that marketers want us to buy things, & who’s it easiest for them to convince us to buy things for, than “that special someone.”
I get it…that’s traditional “love,” perpetuated from the time we become young adults – couples love. And I do think love btwn partners is a beautiful thing. But here’s my challenge: what happened to that love we were encouraged to spread as kids in school? Even if that was the encouragement bc most little kids aren’t “in serious relationships” ;)…there was beauty in the innocence of it, & lifting the spirits of so many w even a small token of a card or a note.
So this Valentine’s Day…at a time in our world where there’s so much division, so much public fighting, so many sides taken, maybe we can use this holiday to target the love in a broader way than what’s been “traditional” for adults for so long. I’m sure you’ve already considered the kids in your lives – but what abt your friends? The mail carrier? The delivery person? The clerk at the store? The neighbor who lives alone?
We can’t make a card for everyone – but imagine if a fire was lit in our inner child & we each gave a card (or even sent a txt) to 2 more than usual. Much more needed love would go around!
