Valentine's Day is coming...

Various legends, good PR, and time has suggested that the first Valentine's Day card was written by Valentine himself. 

He gave the card to the daughter of his jailer who was no longer blind due to Valentine's divine intervention and signed it "Your Valentine"; the next day they executed him. It seems back in the day there were a number of martyrs named Valentine, and through their trials and tribulations February 14th became a special day. 

Over time romantic and courtly love started to take hold and by the 18th century February 14th had evolved into a day for the sharing of flowers, candies and hand written cards with those you loved. The advent of the industrial revolution and the mass production of greeting cards gave birth to modern Valentine's Day. Fast forward to the 21st century and Valentine's Day has now evolved into a commercialized venture with roses at $15 a piece and overly priced restaurant meals. 

In light of this, a quiet counter revolution to this sacred day has been slowly growing. 

While part of this counter revolution is the result of higher than usual pricing, there are also those who may not have a "love in their life" at the moment and this day comes across as a condescending slap in the face for their failure. We have all known heartbreak, a love lost, or a love never realized and it can be painful; quite a lot actually. People just don't need the Valentine's Day industrial complex reminding them of this.

It is an interesting situation we have here it seems... love and the recognition of love is a very noble endeavour, but it has evolved in such a way that we want to "stab it" in the proverbial heart with cupid's arrow. 

What are we to do... what to do? Like all problems, it requires a different perspective to help understand the situation. This is where wise mentors or just down right smart people come into play. 

In the case of this Valentine's Day situation, I turned to the master Louis Armstrong or as we like to call him, 'Satchmo". For those of you who are not familiar with Louis Armstrong, he was an American jazz trumpeter, singer, and arguably the most influential figure in jazz music. It was Satchmo who introduced me to the song "What a Wonderful World" and a new perspective on Valentine's Day. The song is a bit of an anthem for me and it goes like this:

I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed the day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by
I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do
But they're really saying is I love you.

I hear baby's crying and I watched them grow
They'll learn much more than I'll ever know
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.
Yes, I think to myself what a wonderful world.

I look at Valentine's Day not in the limiting context of a couple staring into each other's eyes*, but more as to how Louis Armstrong sang of this wonderful world. 

It is the line, "I see friends shaking hands, saying how do you do, but what they're really saying is I love you" that gives me a new perspective of what Valentine's Day should mean (and does mean). So go shake someone's hand or give them a big hug, because frankly it's more meaningful than a $15 rose, and I think it's how many of those Valentines would have wanted it.

So here's to this wonderful world, particularly on Valentine's Day.

iamgpe

www.gpestratagem.com 

*Couples staring into each other's eyes, is one of the top ten things a couple can do together, maybe even one of the top three.

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