Today is Valentine’s Day. A day to show how much we care, to profess our love, to buy cards and candy… A day to eat out and do all the romantic things. A day to be kind to our friends, to bring our cute valentine boxes to school. I enjoy days like today; I won’t lie. But… at the end of the day, are we feeling love? Are we feeling loved?
Our world today can bring us so much sadness and fear. I woke up today to the news of yet one more shooting… People hurting others. Our race is divided and social media is a breeding ground for hate and negativity. How do we handle all of this? We can forget about it for today, and get all tangled in romantic vibes… But will it last? Does the love last?
We need to go much deeper. With teens feeling sadder and more depressed each day according to statistics, how do we feel hopeful? How do we nurture our kindness and create lightness in our lives?
If you are reading this and expecting me to give you an answer, you will be disappointed. I will, though, tell you what I am going to do. Today I will treat everyone I see with respect. Today I will nurture hope in my heart. Today I will allow myself to feel vulnerable. Today I will try to understand perspectives instead of defending my own. Today I will flood myself with the idea that if I can go through my day with joy and hope in my heart, and that it will make a difference. Maybe my daughter will feel heard and that will alleviate her worries. Maybe my husband will feel loved and have a better day knowing he makes a difference. The little things matter.
I am tired of allowing myself to get beaten up by the world. I am tired of losing hope. I am tired of replacing my own naturally joyful thoughts with fear. I am not saying that this will be easy, or constant. I will have fear, I will get angry, and I will point fingers. I just want to be able to move away from those states sooner. I want to apologize when I hurt someone. I want to be raw and allow others to see my mistakes– and also see that I can learn and choose differently.
I can choose differently. I choose to feel love, and when I can’t, I choose to believe that it is possible and that it will come and flow through me, even if it takes some time. With practice, I will nurture hope and know that it is possible. Feeling love is possible, and with luck, love will become my constant companion.
Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!
Maria Jacobs 
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