The Lovely Blog Post
Though the month of February is coming to its quick end, being as it is the month that has a holiday dedicated to love within it, I wanted to write this month’s post on love, of course. Whether romantic, platonic, or even self-love, this month is supposed to be all about celebrating each and every various form of love that enriches our lives. Unfortunately, I think Valentine’s Day focuses too closely on the romantic form of love as the month is marketed as a time for lovers, dates, and romance, but love is so much more than just that.
According to the Oxford Dictionary, love is defined as “an intense feeling of deep affection.” Love is a feeling, one of the most powerful of all other feelings, as it is the one that often overwhelms and controls most human emotions for better or worse; it’s a force that drives us. That is why, like I said, it is so limiting to have the holiday about love just be centered and marketed in the romantic form. Love extends to so much more than just romance; though romance is fun to think about, love is about the raw, passionate, and caring nature of our core feelings. For some, romance is not at the center of their core, so they detest Valentine’s Day and February and sometimes in association with the two love together. That is so unfortunate because love is so often not in relation to romance but to passion, like the love of your family, friends, pets, hobbies, and so on. Most importantly, though, love should extend to our feelings about ourselves.
Self-love is a concept that is often overlooked but is crucial for our overall well-being. It’s about treating ourselves with kindness, compassion, and respect. In a world that constantly tells us we’re not good enough, practicing self-love is a radical act of rebellion of sorts. It’s about embracing our flaws, celebrating our strengths, and recognizing our worthiness. It is often said you can’t be loved or know love until you love yourself first. This sentiment is why this year, for Valentine’s Day, I celebrated myself as my Valentine and even wrote a poem about it, which, if you follow the JustLj Facebook page, you already saw it, but here it is.
As February comes to a close, make a commitment to love yourself fiercely and unapologetically because you are worthy of it and deserve it. Remember that. Then spread that love to those around you in your life to create a ripple effect of kindness and compassion that will make a true holiday of love worth celebrating.
What I’m Currently Working on
Currently, I am in week seven of eight of two courses at SNHU, Advanced Fiction Writing Workshop and Seminar in American Literature, instructed by Professor Abigail Rose-Marie and Jacqueline Smith. As always, to follow my progression or what I am doing, you can head over to the Works in Progress Page or follow the Facebook Page where I post updates and share fun tidbits daily.
Author Recommendation
This suggestion may seem odd for this blog post, but Matthew J. Kirby writes a compelling and raw narrative on the importance of self-love and looking past physical attraction and whatnot. Yes its true I am not recommending a romance even though its Feburay and this blog is about love and instead am suggesting a historical fiction about Jack The Ripper and the Elephant Man. The protagonist, Evelyn, is a matchstick girl who is such a coming-of-age character. She has flaws, she hates herself and isn’t looking for love or to be a hero. She is just looking for safety. That is so relatable, honestly. So if any of this interests you which if you’ve read this far into this blog Id like to assume it does go check it out A Taste for Monsters!
Poem for the Month
The Garden of Love
I went to the Garden of Love,
And saw what I never had seen:
A Chapel was built in the midst,
Where I used to play on the green.
And the gates of this Chapel were shut,
And ‘Thou shalt not’ writ over the door;
So I turn’d to the Garden of Love,
That so many sweet flowers bore.
And I saw it was filled with graves,
And tomb-stones where flowers should be:
And Priests in black gowns, were walking their rounds,
And binding with briars, my joys & desires.
JustLj.com 