Getting Through Valentine’s Day without Loosing Your Mind!

From www.PlanetWisdom.Com

The time is here and there’s no escaping it. The hearts, the roses, the candy and teddy bears are everywhere to remind you that Cupid’s coming to town. The custom is rooted in a Roman festival called Lupercalia, in honor of the goddess of marriage—gotta love the Italians for their romantic sentiments. According to the legend, men and women were paired up and then exchanged gifts. So we’ve been doing the same ever since—over 1 billion cards are exchanged, over 110 million roses are sold, and 36 million heart shaped chocolate boxes are sold.

But let’s face it, Valentine’s Day can be stressful no matter how you look at. It started when we were only in elementary school, forced to painfully witness the exchanging of V-day cards. The one question weighing on everyone’s mind—will I get one? Whew! I got one—but how many will I get? I gave her one, will she give me one? He gave me a card, but I don’t have one for him . . . Oh, well. Who else is going to give me one? Now all these formative years later, is the story all that different?

For those who are single—you know you’re not getting a card, at least not the “special” kind. And you know this because it’s been rubbed in your face since the day after New Year’s when nativity scenes were rapidly replaced with pink and red hearts at the mall. I mean, seriously, what kind of “holiday” excludes people who already feel excluded? How is it that a celebration of love, manages to leave so many people feeling unloved? But don’t despair singles of the world, those who don’t get to spend the day alone have their own stress to deal with.

Anyone dating or beyond will admit that the hype surrounding Valentine’s Day is nearly impossible to live up to. For one thing, most our wallets are still recovering from Christmas. But the commercials all seem to suggest that the size of your gift is a direct reflection of how much you care. And even if you don’t buy into it, you still wonder if the love of your life does… You can always go for the classic candlelight dinner plus red roses and uncomfortable dress-up clothes. But not only is that a bit cliché, let’s face it, for many of us it equals awkward, not romance. Coming up with something that’s original, thoughtful, romantic, and cost effective, is the source of many sleepless nights this time of year.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with celebrating romantic love. In fact, Song of Solomon is an entire book of the Bible dedicated to just that. But romantic or not, love itself is worth celebrating. Valentine’s Day is a great excuse to shower some love on the people around you. The two greatest commandments in the Bible are about showing love. The first is to love God with all your heart, and the second is to love your neighbor as yourself.

Here are some ideas to make sure you don’t find yourself stressed out over V-day. Remember, it’s not a popularity contest or about the perfect date. Just think of it as an opportunity to make someone else feel special. If you’re single, invite a bunch of other singles over for pizza and a movie or a night on the town, or take one or both of your parents out for dinner to show them your appreciation, call up your grandparents to let them know you love them, and finally, send yourself some Valentine flowers if you really want them (15% of American women do anyway—pathetic? No way! It’s genius). If you have a special someone, try a group date with other couples or friends for a more relaxed and less intense evening, go for fun instead of forced romance, and be sure to talk about each others expectations before hand and decide what’s realistic and healthy for your relationship.

Again, there’s no need to stress. After all, Valentine’s Day is a man-made holiday, so you can celebrate it however you want. For me, it’s always been a good excuse to splurge on others. But then I guess everyday should be about that!


This is from the Planet Wisdom website WWW.PlanetWisdom.Com
Courtesy of Mark Matlock