My friend Maddy thinks Valentine’s Day is a stupid, artificial, pseudo-holiday created by greedy advertisers, florists and diamond merchants.
The whole charade, according to her, is a guilt-inducing plot to get people to buy junk no one needs or cares about as a superficial way to express love to those we should be showering with love every day. Not just on some lame-brain, made-up holiday.
Okay, well, she may have a point.
But I’ve always liked Valentine’s Day. I have fond memories of cutting out red hearts, pasting them on white doilies and writing “Will you be my Valentine?” in the center. In fifth grade, if felt good to have a legitimate reason to slip Chris Martin, the boy I had an out-of-control crush on, one of those flimsy pre-made, 50-to-a-box Valentines, the one with cupid shooting an arrow through a big red heart and the words, “Be Mine.”
I even liked those hard, chalky, multicolored heart candies with the silly sayings on them: I’m Yours. Love You. Hug Me.
For me, Valentine’s Day is a celebration of Love. All kinds of Love. Divine Love, romantic love, friendship love, brotherly and sisterly love, muskrat love, and even one’s love for pizza.
But more than that, it’s a celebration of Love expressed.
It’s the perfect day to not just acknowledge the love and appreciation you feel but to express it. Give it full voice. Loudly, outrageously. Without apology, shyness or reservation.
Of course, every day is a day to fully express your love. And I hope you do. But why not see Valentine’s Day as the perfect annual reminder to put what you feel into words and share it with those you love? Valentine’s Day: the perfect annual reminder to put what you feel into words. Click To Tweet
Here, let me give you a little shove in that direction.
I’ve created 10 easy, fun and completely free ways to express your love at home and in your business on Valentine’s Day. And do you know what I love most about these 10 ways?
All they require are your words, your love and your willingness to share both:
- Write an old-fashioned love letter to someone you love. Yeah, one that you write by hand on pretty stationary, then fold and slide into an envelope, seal and send with a stamp. It doesn’t have to be a long letter. It can say, “I love you more than pizza. And you know how much I love pizza.”
- Take a pad of sticky notes and write a dozen or more little love notes, one per sticky, and leave them in strategic, sure-to-be-found places throughout your house or work space. Simple, short and sincere. Like “You are amazing.” “Your brilliance shines so bright I’m completely dazzled.” “I love the way you do that thing you do.”(For some truly great little love notes, check out this great post by Alexandra Franzen. Love it!)
- Write a Valentine’s Day blog post that’s a passionate Love Manifesto – an unbridled flow of words about why you love what you do and the people you serve. Here are some fun examples of manifestos.
- Select 10 (or more) of your all-time favorite clients and email each one of them a little love note of encouragement and appreciation. Do the same for the people on your team, those who stand by you and support your business everyday. Let yourself gush a little bit more than you normally do. Remind them of all the things that make them special, why you’re so happy to know them, why they stand out in your world.
- If you’re on Twitter, tweet 140-character love tweets to your Twitter followers. You could come up with 5 different love tweets and schedule them throughout the day on Valentine’s Day. Again, Alexandra Franzen does this better than anyone so steal from her (she gives you her permission to do so).
- If you’re on Facebook, identify 10 Facebook friends you adore but rarely communicate with. Then, leave some Valentine’s Day graffiti on their Facebook wall, like the image of blazing red heart, a love poem or love quote, or a photo you know they’ll love. For instance, if you know someone who has a thing for baby giraffes (I do), post a great photo of a baby giraffe on their wall with a little love note. Easy.
- Write a love haiku. Haiku is a short poem of 17 syllables, often in the form of three lines, but not always. (Here are some examples and here are some more ). Once you’ve written one, or two or three, send them to those you love. Or put it on a cool background and post them on Facebook.
- Find one of your favorite love songs on YouTube, turn it into an mp3 with this handy-dandy converter, then email it to whomever you want. It doesn’t have to be a mushy love song. It can be something like That’s What Friends Are For or one of my new favorites, Best Friend. Be sure to send a little love note with that mp3! Let your someone know why you’re sending that song to them.
- Grab some of those old note cards you have lying around but never use anymore and write 10 anonymous notes of encouragement, compassion and love to someone you’ve never met. That’s right. These notes are going to strangers. Write a short love note to each stranger as if you were writing to a soon-to-be friend. Express your understanding, support and appreciation for who this person is. Write 10 different notes to 10 different strangers. Tuck each note into an envelope, seal it and write on the outside: “If you found this envelope, the note inside is for you.” Then leave those envelopes in public places. Like in the napkin dispenser at your local Chipotle. Or on a chair at a coffee house. In the magazine rack of a grocery store. Between two books in a library. On a table in a waiting room.You don’t know who will find your note or when. But you can know for certain, whoever finds it will love receiving it. I did this for months at a time, and it was a blast. Here’s how I got this idea.
- Take a long sheet of paper, preferably something special and lovely, and write a love letter to yourself. Tell yourself how amazing you are, how proud you are of yourself. Remind yourself of how far you’ve come, how much you’ve evolved as a conscious human being. Thank yourself for always being there for you. And be sure to write “I love you.” Write it over and over again. And mean it. Because, believe me, you long to hear and trust those words from yourself more than you long to hear them from anyone else. Then read it to yourself. Out loud. 3 times.
These are just a few ways you can use your words to celebrate and express Love on Valentine’s Day or any day.
Who cares if Valentine’s Day is a cynic’s pseudo-holiday! You and I, we can see it as a day to celebrate Love in all its permutations. By expressing it. Throw away any timidity or shyness and let ‘er rip. Become an outrageous, love-charged earth angel whose words are messengers of unbridled, unconditional, from-the-depths-of-your-heart Love.
Let Valentine’s Day be your excuse to do so. But then, keep that love fest rolling all year long. After all, you can use those 10 suggestions above any day of the week, right?
What’s your favorite way to express your love and appreciation on Valentine’s Day? Or any day? Let me know by leaving a comment below.