Valentine’s Day is right around the corner and with it can come all the stress and sadness and invalidation that a system based on commercializing everything under the sun has so successfully created.
Now, please don’t get me wrong, I love LOVE itself, just not the machine that’s been created around a specific day on the calendar that can serve as a nice reminder for some, but really just lines the pockets (heavily) of a few savvy corporations.
So, what is this post about then, if not Valentine’s Day and all of it’s roses and diamonds, fancy dinners and chocolate?
It’s about the day to day reality of a relationship and what it needs to be successful in the long run. It’s about taking time every single day to look your loved one in the eye and tell them that you love them. It’s about stopping for 20 seconds and hugging your partner real tight before leaving the house for the days adventures (or the daily grind). It’s about stopping at the end of a hectic day to ask your loved one how his or her day was and actually listening to their answer (and it’s about answering honestly when asked). It’s about putting your relationship first every single day, not just when the calendar tells you to.
True love between two people is slowly built, with time and intention.
Equally, the love between two people doesn’t just disappear suddenly. It’s not like a switch (even though that passion in the beginning sure can feel like a switch). It slowly grows and fades and shifts and changes and ebbs and flows. That love can also be taken for granted, pushed aside and allowed to be covered up with the settling dust of our every day lives. But the love between two people doesn’t just disappear.
Love lasts when it is approached intentionally, day after day, minute to minute. Love lasts when there is time taken for long hugs and thoughtful questions, picnics in the park and heart shaped french toast. Love lasts when you take a day trip or make ice cream sundaes together. Love lasts when you put the love you share in a place of importance in both of your lives.
Love lasts when we admit that none of us are perfect, but we are all loved and lovable.
So, with Valentine’s Day right around the corner, I intend to reaffirm the love I should be showing the biggest gift in my life every single day, not just when the calendar tells me to. And I challenge you to do the same.
Love, and be loved, my friends. Truly, deeply, madly. Every single day.
xoxo,
M
PS – A little over a year ago, I did a post about a project I had been working on for my partner called Giving Thanks. My intention was pure and the time that went into the project was so worth it. I handed over the gift and the experiences were set to begin as soon as she was ready! Then, kids and jobs and life happened and the majority of those experiences I had planned so carefully stayed in their glass jar. Well, it’s well past time to pull it out again! If you’d like some inspiration and want to build some memories of your own, click HERE for a list of experiences to share with your loved one.
