Will You Be My Valentine?
Happy Lovers Day,
I know not everyone is into Valentine’s… but I dig holidays! They are some of the most consistent rituals we have left in our culture. And rituals create spaces for us to put our attention on something specific and honor it.
Sure Valentine’s Day has been used, like so many other holidays, as a platform to spend way too much money. And much of what we see in ads and our social media feeds are people bragging about how their lover or spouse has professed their love; leaving many folks with a different experience feeling left out and even resentful.
But a holiday honoring LOVE is right down my alley. There’s so much we have yet to understand about it, that frankly this virtue could use more time to be reflected upon.
Love is a term we use a lot. But it means different things to different people. And we all express and experience love in different ways. There’s unconditional love, romantic love, plutonic love, agape love, self-love… I could go on, but I won’t.
The one thing I know holds true for everyone, is that Love requires Courage.
Did you know that St. Valentine’s was a priest in Rome that was actually executed on February 14th around 278 A.D.? He was be-headed for continuing to perform marriages after they were banned by Emperor Claudius, who felt men devoted to their wives would not go off to war. (more here) Valentine left a note behind for the jailer’s daughter who had become his friend, and signed it “From your Valentine”. He became a martyr for having the courage to defend love with his life.
The root of the word courage means from the heart. So beyond the tokens of affection, and the gestures of appreciation, if we’re really going to dig into the juicy heart center of this holiday, lets ask ourselves: what is so close to our hearts, that we would defend it with our lives?
Because what I know about love so far is:
- That its bigger than making people happy, or like me.
- It’s bigger than the things that make me feel special and important.
- It’s requires courage, vulnerability, authenticity, and compassion.
- It requires a willingness to feel pain, disappointment, anger, and loss.
- It asks us to take risks, to embrace the unknown, and to stand up for our heart’s deepest desires.
- It asks so much, because us it gives us everything we need. Which is why it is so worth it! So on this lover’s day, I hope you will take a moment to reflect on what gives you the courage to love?
And if you’re feeling brave please share it with me! One of the things that gives me the courage to keep loving, is hearing what’s in your heart.
from your valentine,
Kamali
P.S. KamaYoga is back! Enrollment is now open for the spring series which is all about Awakening & Balancing our Chakras. I'm sharing a whole video series about Chakras leading up to the class, you can watch the first one below. Please share it with anyone who will benefit!