Love is in the Air...

There are a few things I’ve had on my mind as Valentine’s Day has been approaching and I’m wondering what all the rest of the world out there thinks (or at least those in Winnipeg who may read this).

Let me begin by just saying that Valentine’s Day is confusing to me. Do we really need a day in order to show those we love that we care about them? Shouldn’t we be doing that everyday? And why has this day become so much about the material items you give to those you care about? Is that really the only way to show someone you love them? But I suppose it’s just following suit with all the other holidays that society has snagged and has fairly successfully convinced us are all about buying stuff and getting stuff.

This day has also become very much about couples – at least in the adult world. Oh, the days when on this special occasion each kid in the class gave each kid in the class a little paper Spiderman or Barbie Valentine card, and no one felt left out. No one was allowed to let anyone else feel left out because your parents and your teachers made you write on one of those little papers for everyone in the world! Including the kid that no one liked because in my mother’s words – and I’m pretty sure in the words of DC Talk – “We all wanna be loved”. And you know, now that I’m older I’m glad my parents told me I had to include everyone, be it for Valentine’s day cards or at recess in the school yard, I learned that everyone has value and no one should be cast aside. But for adults, Valentine’s Day is all about exclusivity. We forget about all the different kinds of love that there are and all the ways that love can be expressed. We forget about the love that Jesus so passionately taught us about. At Valentine’s it seems as though love can only be love when it’s between two people who are dating or are married. It seems as though love is only for some. And worse, it seems as though it’s only deserved by some.

I delivered a short speech at a Winnipeg school a couple of days ago. They were having an assembly and focusing on loving others. After they heard from myself, sang a song about caring for other people, and heard from their principal about being kind, they made little paper hearts and decorated them. They didn’t make these hearts for each other though. When they were done, they gave them to Siloam Mission to be given out on Valentine’s Day to those who will be using our services. 400 construction paper hearts carefully made and carefully written on with love. There will be 44 volunteers at Siloam Mission this Saturday February the 14th, who will, along with staff, serve meals to and care for Winnipeg’s less fortunate, Winnipeg’s forgotten. That’s loving others.

So this Valentine’s Day, perhaps instead of taking your significant other out for a fancy dinner and buying him/her an expensive over-sized teddy bear that holds a plush heart which reads “Be Mine”(that he/she will only have to find space for in his/her room that is already over crowded with useless stuff our culture says we need), you might consider making little paper hearts for others who don’t feel like anyone cares about them or volunteering at a soup kitchen with people who “wanna be loved”. Don’t get me wrong, special plans are a nice gesture and “couple time” is needed for any healthy romantic relationship, but what I’m trying to say is that I don’t think Valentine’s Day needs to be confined to “couple love”.

There are so many hurting people out there; your friends, your neighbours, family members, those who have little to no support system, those who live on our streets. Everyone needs to feel a little love. Everyone needs to know they are cared about. Everyone needs to know someone sees they exist.

So let’s start making Valentine’s Day, and may I suggest everyday, a little more about loving others and a little less about “me”.

Sarah Enns
Community Education Coordinator and sj101 Coordinator