Valentine's Day has made its way into the markets - surprise. The corpus of Christmas had not yet cooled where my local stores had already shifted those items to yellow clearance tags and, seemingly, chocolates destined for one holiday had transmogrified to another.
Valentine's Day should be thought upon positively. Where else do we have a holiday dedicated to the eons old, ultimately necessary (but never perfunctory), ideal of romance? And from romance has come literature, poetry, culture, empires, and the very shape of the world...
In a smaller view, consider your own romance(s) - how the very idea of love can provide a bulwark on which to draw strength, elation, energy and inspiration. I can assure you it is safe - I am the first to say to always draw an equal bulwark on your feelings lest those heights be which one could fall. I warn caution in all matters of the heart.
For those writers out there, Valentine's Day is a sandbox. In love or not, it is a solid way to sharpen one's skills - may it be in writing or in reading or in inspiration.
A challenge for yourself this year is to pick up two of my passions (and I'll join with you) - that of the Day and of letter writing. Letter writing is such a beautiful art form that has lost its way with technology...but one that should be exercised by the daily writer.
Here are some inspirations from Barnes and Noble should you be interested in taking up the pen and write directly, anonymously, or, for no one. You cannot go wrong on any of those paths.
These small format cards are a throw back to yester-year. My grandmother actually saved a similar one in her scrapbook - so they are faithful to the past. These are good for learning to be concise and giving your love notes in a small (but impactful way).
This set is complete with everything you need to truly go daft. The exacting nature of writing shouldn't be so. Although I am not perfect, I do my best. But in the least, with this set, you can see if you have a knack for it. It may give your objet d'afection pause to celebrate your skills.
If you've seen Letters to Juliet, which I recommend, you'll note that there are letters left beneath her purported parapet. This is a real, and fascinating, thing to discover and read through. It is the height of modern day romance - leaving hand-written letters to one's love across time.
There are a variety of sources for beautiful love poems, but you can't go wrong with Neruda. May it be for inspiration - he has a way of crafting a beautiful, taunt web of lines that make a great gift for your loved one or yourself.
How ever you celebrate - just do it. We really don't have many days when we can let our innermost poet out in such a flagrant way. <3 you!