Celebrating Love on Valentine’s Day – Orange County Register

A romantic at heart, Valentine’s Day is one of my favorite celebrations and I love celebrating this holiday in a special way.

The history of Valentine’s Day shows that it was celebrated with romantic love. According to legend, Saint Valentine sent the first Valentine’s greeting while in prison.

It is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl who may have been his jailer’s daughter. The girl would visit him during his confinement.

Before his death, Valentine wrote her a letter, which he signed “From Your Valentine.” Although St. Valentine is believed to have been a martyr, it is still unclear who he was.

The first memories of Valentine’s Day usually begin at an early age when children make special cards for school and craft a Valentine’s box with pretty pink or red ribbons, bows and red and pink hearts.

Little girls and boys give valentines to each of their classmates hoping they will be their special friends. Pink Valentine candies with red messages like “Be Mine” or “Will You Be My Valentine” are bought and eaten for fun.

The influence of love on our lives

Love takes different forms and plays a significant role in our lives. Without love, people are mentally and physically ill and do not thrive. Children who are deprived of love develop cognitive, physiological, and mental impairments.

Without love, we often feel a loss of self-esteem, a loss of self-worth, and a loss of self. However, with love, we feel safe, cared for, valued, valued and whole. We feel part of something bigger than ourselves.

Romantic love and its celebration bind us emotionally, spiritually, and physically to our spouses and partners. Celebrating love happens every day: at the airport with a kiss to greet you, in the driveway with a kiss goodbye, a hug that shows that special someone you care, or a smile that melts your heart.

No matter how you celebrate or show your love, it brings great joy.

Despite this, 50% to 60% of marriages fail and end in divorce.

So how do we prevent our relationships from failing?

• If you are looking for love, be emotionally ready for it.
• Realize that love comes from within and not from without.
• Don’t settle for just anyone because you don’t want to be alone.

To quote the Three Dog Night song “One,” “One is the loneliest number.” But before you can love someone, you must first love yourself.

Other forms of love

Agape love is defined as unconditional love. This word was borrowed from the Greek word for “charity”. In biblical texts originally written in Greek, the word agape is used to imply any kind of selfless love, whether between people or between people and God. An example of this would be the love between mother and child.

Agape love is the highest form of love, showing empathy, expanding desire for the good of the loved one, wanting the best, granting help, and showing good intentions.

Friendships are a blessing and a joy to be cherished. They are important to us for our personal growth and success. Many of us quickly made friends with people from work, at a nail salon, at a business meeting or workshop, or through social media.

Friends and mentors through work offer encouragement and support. They understand the need to vent and to support and encourage growth in good times and bad. Friends and mentors help us move forward.

It’s important to listen to our inner voice when choosing a friend and not rely on intuition and/or attraction alone.

Some things to look out for when choosing friends are:

• Look for someone who shares the same values.
• Ask yourself if this person will respect your choices and choices, even if they differ from theirs.
• Look for reliability and commitment.
• Communication is a powerful tool in any relationship.
• Don’t take your friends for granted.
• Most true friends transcend time and distance.

As an old Girl Scout song says, “Make new friends but keep the old ones, one is silver, one is gold”.

No matter how we celebrate our love for others this Valentine’s Day, be merry. As long as we consciously cultivate our love, family and friend relationships, Valentine’s Day will always be with us.