Love
This Valentines Day, Let’s Give Each Other the Gift of Love….
And kindness
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Valentine’s Day is upon us. Another year when nearly every city in the world is filled with Red Roses, balloons, and chocolate. And every corner is filled with people smiling in glee, as they look forward to that one special day with their special loved one.
But this year, Valentine’s day hits different.
As I was having a coffee chat with a good friend, she asked me what I would like to be remembered as when my time comes to go home to the big house in the sky.
I replied, “I want people to remember me as someone who was kind and fought for those who couldn’t fight for themselves.” I then added, the more I live, the more I see how everyone is becoming more viscous with each other as the year progresses. Like caged rats, fighting for the last piece of cheese.
Empathy and kindness have become merely words in the pages of a dusty dictionary, placed on the corner of a bookshelf.
In the 1980s and 1990s, we had Mother Theresa and Princess Diana who always championed humanity above all else. Princess Diana famously said once “The biggest disease in this day and age is that of people feeling unloved."
Nobody talks like that anymore.
Random acts of kindness and selflessness that were once prevalent in our world seem to have been replaced and motivated by content creation, viral videos, engagements, and algorithms.
Human kindness, purity, decency, and chivalry have become rare commodities. Like Tanzanite buried deep inside the Earth.
All we need to do is look around us and be reminded how far humanity has fallen. Wars rampage all around us, food out of reach for many. Food is no longer a basic necessity, but has become a luxury.
Some stores have even gone as far as placing security tags on steaks, cheese and dummy jars of coffee on the shelves.
How did we get here? How did we get to a place where people are stealing food on a large scale across the world?
My friend then reminded me that we don’t have to be Mother Theresa or Princess Diana to be able to change the world. Change can come in the smallest form and from any of us.
We don’t need to announce it with a press conference, have it go viral or even let anyone know about it. Any act of kindness, we can do as a person still goes a long way in impacting and changing another person’s life.
Confucius once said, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” In order to create a loving and compassionate world, we have to first start being loving and compassionate to others.
This Valentines day, if you find yourself, single, no chocolates on the table, no Red Roses in a pretty vase, or a romantic dinner to dress up for, it’s ok. Know that you’re not alone.
Instead of feeling like Debby Downer, ask yourself, did you help someone today? Did you, in whatever small way, made a person’s day a little bit better? Did you let someone take your place at the cash register because they were in a hurry? Did you share your umbrella with someone while crossing the street during a pouring rain? Did you feed a stray cat?
No matter how small or significant your think your actions are. It mattered. You matter. Your act of kindness is your love language. And by giving your love language to a complete stranger, you’ve shown the greatest love of all, being selfless.
If you didn’t make today about you and instead helped someone in need, then I thank you. The world thanks you.
This Valentine’s Day, remember, you’re not alone. Single, but never alone.
Happy Valentine’s Day to you.
XOXO,
Dara
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