This is my anti-Valentine's Day statement!
I am NOT against love, not a bit, it's one of the most powerful forces for good in this mad, crazy mixed up world...oh no, I am a massive fan of love.
What I am NOT a fan of is the rampaging retail commercialisation of a private personal and intimate emotion.
The superficiality, the sheer shallowness of electing one day out of a possible 365 and making it about profits, not people. About more spend, spend, spend, rather than feel, appreciate, give, receive and glow! The overblown Valentine gesture, the puffed amd puckered up, the idealisation of romantic love, the Hollywooditis of viral postings of engagements, roses, hearts and flowers all seeking self glorification, stylised surface love and approval ratings.
Give me the dirty, unconditional holding of someone's hair while they vomit kinda love, the love that takes the trash out when its raining, the enduring contented love found in lines spoken by Gabriel Oak* "when I look up, there shall you be, and when you look up, there shall I be" the love that drops a sandwich in the lap of the homeless. The love that takes a thorn from the lion's paw or gets out of bed in the middle of the night to check for burglars. Give me the swan's graceful loyalty and the 'mate for life' ethos. Thats REAL love...that is.
We have but one word for love...all kinds of love, and to describe it...ONE word. So in celebration of LOVE let's have a light hearted look at the limitations of having but one L word to rule them all?
I love salt and vinegar crisps, I love to garden, I love my children, I love the wind in my hair, I love people who are passionate about changing the world, I love the scent of jasmine on a summer night, I love the rugged beauty of Scotland, I love the taste of cinnamon, I love jazz and blues, I love to walk in the mountains, I love dark bitter chocolate, I love true justice, I love to hear children laughing and playing, I love this planet, my mother, our home, I love reading well written articles, books, and posts, I love to see the sun rise...
I love it when I finally press POST on a steemit article, I love my dog, I love Nature's deep abiding beauty, I love it when the washing up gets done (preferably not by me) I love the sound of rain on my window when I am cosy in bed, I love to see kindness in action, I love a cup of tea, I love good inspiring ideas, I love the beach and the ocean waves, I love trees, plants, animals, flowers, I love compassionate caring people, I love all things coconut, I love Tolkien and Rumi, I love to meditate, I love wild swimming, I love the scent of line dried laundry, I love PEACE and the transformational power of pure LOVE
And I love crackpots, dot connectors, people who stand outside the norm of "normal," people who nudge the boundaries and the borders and break them, shatter the rules, cut the chains, and release themselves from the insufferable indoctrination. People beyond the dumbed down psychology of "fitting in" being accepted, being sheep to be herded by powerful unseen hands that seek to shape the destinies of each man, woman and child on this precious planet. If you speak out, challenge, rebuke, revolt, revolutionise, stand alone, stand with many, sing to your own tune, bang your own drum, dance alone...I, lily in the red dress, salute you! Dare I say it? Maybe I even love you!
I'll be writing more on this subject over the weekend where I'll be looking at how we can develop our language to embrace a deeper way to distinguish between all the different kinds of love and how we might express and elevate our understanding by using new word forms derived from our ancient past! And I would love it if you'll join me for that...
Picture Credits & Notes
- Gabriel Oak is a character in Thomas Hardy's Far From The Madding Crowd, he speaks these words to Bathsheba Everdene when he is asking her to marry him.
Fall in Love Photo by weareanonymousxx at DeviantArt
Four Hearts by Jim Dine 1969 Tate Gallery London
Swans Heart pic public domain wallpaper
Sunrise at Loch Rannoch Scotland by me, lilygolightly
John Lennon Meme; Laurie Kelley @the Bully
lilygolightly against the flock of sheep
I agree, I got my head bitten off for daring to call out this corporate bs. Nothing at all to do with love or romance!
Like so many things in life, Tony, it entirely depends where you are seeing things from, what your perspective is...and it does seem to trigger some people doesn't it?
Thanks for your support as always 😄
BS commercialism or not, just like a birthday, or Mothering Sunday, there is always one person to whom you can remember to give flowers or chocolates, or just a kiss. Mum was there at the start, and saw you through many painful episodes. Hugs for Mums! 😇
Right on, Simon...BIG shout out for loving our Mums!! And an even bigger shout out for our unswerving amazing capacity to LOVE. ❤️
You tell us it's corporate bullshit. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. But you put your point forward and let individuals decide.
Too much aggressive and forceful marketing of a viewpoint makes it lose its validity.
A day to celebrate human's love for each other isn't a bad thing. You don't need to buy into all the commercialness and shite, but millions love it just a simple fun sweet day.
Try putting that anger and venom into trying to save starving kids, or something worth fighting for. Causes need priorities, and I'm sorry, but worrying about Hallmark's profits isn't one of mine.
Remind me to send you a homemade card next year my friend ;-)
Best wishes, hope you have an amazing weekend :-)
Thanks for adding your comments and viewpoint, @nathen007 and you're spot on about allowing people to their right to call it as they see it!
Of course I do agree that a genuine celebration of love is a good thing...as is recognising that being loving, and appreciating what we all hold dear and love, every single day of the year is preferable to a commercially inflated 24 hour one hit wonder.
There is no venom, anger or aggression in that...none at all. I am actually rather surprised that is what you see when it's clear, from all the positive imagery and my words, that I am celebrating love in ALL of it's many forms. Here I am (and it feels a bit weird to do this) quoting myself...
"I am NOT against love, not a bit, it's one of the most powerful forces for good in this mad, crazy mixed up world....oh no, I am a MASSIVE fan of love."
And thanks for offering to send me a card next year...I will gladly return the favour!
Safe travels, my friend, and enjoy your return to Thailand 😎
I had a bit of a different perspective on VD and also wrote about it. Thanks for the read! :)
https://steemit.com/philosophy/@kobiespriggs/the-ethics-and-economics-of-caring-valentine-s-day-propaganda
Thanks for commenting and offering more perspectives, the more we widen our circle of knowledge the better! I look forward to reading it⭐️
💖💗💟❤️
Really enjoyed the read...thank you...and will comment on the article itself rather than here! ❤️
No worries. It's not going anywhere... That is one feature of Steemit 😆😘