Happy Valentine's Day!

Ok. I have to go on a little rant here. But if you'll bear with me, I believe you'll find some enlightenment, or, at the very least, a little perspective.

See...I am a very cynical person. As such, I am usually the one to look on the negative side of things first. However, over the past while ( I can't say whether it's been several months or several years) I have noticed myself gradually growing tired of cynicism. Not that I don't get down about things or depressed. Just that, well...being bitchy about things for the sake of being down I am finding more and more annoying than hilarious.

And so we come to Valentine's Day.

Hating on Valentine's Day, I'm sure, has been around as long as the holiday itself. The sentiment's grown in popularity over the last few years as a way to prove your anti-establishment, damn-the-man kind of post-Hallmark social paradigm. Wow. How very 21st century of you. Love Stinks. Original.

Now, I don't buy into that crass commercialism either. Chocolates and flowers and floppy stuffed bunnies aren't really particularly gratifying. And yes, a day reminding you of your singleton status can be damaging to your self-esteem. However, if that's all you get out of this day, I think you're missing the bigger picture.

My own realization of this fact came last Friday, when one of my coworkers "dared" to bring pink cupcakes and heart-shaped sugar cookies for snacks. Immediately, my coworkers (who, I allow, are usually cynical, brought about most likely by being in politics) began rolling their eyes and sneering their mouths in disdain for the upcoming holiday. This behaviour continued on Monday and only grew on Tuesday.

I could have let this behaviour go, but I decided to call them on it. In the middle of our morning meeting, I asked everyone why they had to get so down on love. I called them no-fun-niks and they had a good chuckle...but there was an underlying truth to what I was trying to tell them.

Why have we lost the love? Do we really think it's healthier and more beneficial to ourselves to make a day celebrating the greatest of human emotions the butt of jokes? Because I don't.

So f***ing what if you don't have a romantic interest? So what if you're single and alone? Using those excuses to shit all over V-Day is such a narrow-minded view of what love is. Love is friendship. Love is your family and your drooly pet dog. Love is being decent and considerate to a total stranger out of some greater "love" for humanity. Love, if you're into that sort of thing, can even be about God (though I don't personally abide by that last one.)

With all these different variations and opportunities for love, you would think we would use this day as a time to step back from our self-involved little worlds for 5 damned minutes and reflect on the love we get and the love we give to others. I guarantee you that there are very few people out there who are truly without love. And even then, there is always opportunity to give or get it. This isn't wishful thinking. This is fact. We are just too caught up in ourselves to acknowledge it. Well. Take the time to do that now. Think of your dumbass cat and that cute little way he has of snuggling in a ball on your lap and purring while you watch TV. Gives you the warm fuzzies, don't it?

My point was proven exactly this morning when I stepped onto the bus (having waiting in the -35C, wind-gusting cold for 15 minutes for it to arrive, my face half-frozen) and glanced up at the bus driver. He greeting me with a large smile and with two large light-up hearts on a headband around his head. He grabbed a pair of heart-shaped goofy glasses and put them on for everyone on the bus to see, and let out a boisterous laugh. When we got off the bus downtown, he turned on the microphone next to his seat and wished us a great Valentine's day. I hopped off the bus with a big grin and a lighter step.

Hmm. How about that?

Love,

K