Valentine’s day is here (in case you haven’t already noticed by the inundation of hearts, flowers, and candy in stores). For many people it is a day of celebrating with their spouse or partner and showing them extra love and attention. For others, Valentine’s Day is a depressing reminder that they are single or perhaps grieving the recent loss of a loved one.
If you are celebrating today alone this year, here are a few ways to have a fulfilling Valentine’s Day.
Give Yourself a Break
It’s bad enough to feel lonely, but it’s even worse to scold yourself for doing so. Loneliness is not an indication that you’re doing anything wrong or that there is something wrong and unlovable about you.
Even people that are in relationships can feel incredibly lonely. Loneliness affects everyone at some point in their life. It’s not a sin to feel this way, so stop scolding yourself.
Show Your Love for Others
Valentine’s Day is a holiday to show love. No one says that love must be shown in a romantic way.
This is a great time to show your affection and appreciation for the wonderful people in your life. Get your best friend a box of chocolates or your mom a bouquet of flowers. Put a card on your neighbor’s windshield and your coworker’s computer monitor. Buy your pet a new toy or treat. Give your child a special treat.
You can be filled with love by being loved, and you can be filled with love by loving others. The more love YOU show today, the more love you will feel inside. You will be amazed at how the loneliness quickly slips away when you are full of love.
Don’t let the commercialism of the holiday make you feel alone and isolated. You can have a lovely Valentine’s day if you love yourself and others.
Take Yourself on a Date
How many times during the year do you make a real effort to show yourself love? If you’re like most people, you don’t really think much about how you treat yourself.
This Valentine’s Day, if you find yourself a party of one, try and make the best of it by focusing all of your love and attention on yourself. Take yourself out to a nice dinner. Or, if you don’t like the idea of sitting at a table alone surrounded by couples, then order in your favorite food and watch your favorite movie.
Take a nice long bath. Listen to your favorite band. Buy yourself a little gift on the way home from work. Use this Valentine’s Day to commit to showing yourself more love and kindness throughout the year.
Now, go out and snap up some of those delicious chocolates before they are gone!