A Different Perspective on Valentine's Day

Ok folks... I get it - Valentine's Day is pretty commercialized. We see the signs and ads for chocolate and roses...the dinner specials for two...LOTS OF HEART SHAPES (in red and pink primarily)...and, of course, there's always the half-naked baby/man with a bow and arrow.... It can feel like/be a bit much in its store-formed, advertised version.

Yet - if we peel back the layers of the commercialized glittered hearts to the intention of this holiday, we come to LOVE.

While we often think of love in the context of relationships with others, the seat of the love we can whole-heartedly offer to others rests in HOW WE LOVE OURSELVES. As the Buddha stated, "You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection." For as the ever-wise Rumi wrote, "Feel the sweetness in your own heart. Then you may find the sweetness in every heart."

Check out the links below for some others' thoughts about, and recommendations to, fostering self-love and self-kindness.

Wishing everyone a very Mindful Monday! And may your Valentine's Day be filled with much more self-love than memes with Cupid in them!

https://medium.com/@welzen/valentiness-day-the-gift-of-mindfulness-through-inner-love-48abc07574e6

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/40-ways-to-practice-selfk_b_5886794