Pop Culture

Want a reason to celebrate valentine’s day? Here’s one

Aren’t we all meant to celebrate valentine’s day? 

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, it is obvious to feel a whirlwind of emotions. Have you been feeling the same? 

While some of us are eager to plan a date night with the love of our life, others intend to spend it alone with a pint of beer and binge-watching the new season of Emily in Paris, while some of us are just planning to re-pot houseplants on V-day!

One thing we have noticed in people who spend Valentine’s day alone is a sense of hopelessness. It is somehow made to believe that, if you are not with a partner, it is not your day.

Love that is inside of you

Let me tell you, the thing we are searching for externally, we are it. Yes, you are love.

 All the compassion that you show for others, the kindness that flows through you is proof that you don’t have to go looking for what is already kindling within you. The past two years have been painstakingly hard on some of us. Having to let go of a favorite person and old bonds can feel like we gave up on the chance of receiving love. But is it really so?

How often do we overlook the trivial things that are evidence we are surrounded by love?

A cute text from your school friend asking you to catch up, your pet circling you while wiggling its tail when you are working, your partner actively listening to you rant mindlessly about how much you hate period cramps.

And that masala chai you make for yourself when you need a break? The smallest act of self-love!

 Love is love. You receive it endlessly from everywhere around you and if you slow down and look, you will see a zillion tiny ways someone is showing you their love. If you add up these tiny ways, you will know how much you are loved, how much you are appreciated for just being the glorious YOU that you are!

“We do love ourselves! Everyone does! Isn’t everyone selfish that way?” a friend of mine proclaimed.

You see, that is the problem. Why do we see self-love as something selfish and not noble?

How is loving others an act of nobility and loving ourselves, selfish? We were not taught how to love ourselves in school. We were not taught how to love ourselves at home either. And what did we learn instead? Putting others first. We learned to prioritize the needs of others before ourselves. We were rewarded for doing that, and shamed for doing what is best for us. We were taught why success is important, and why making money is the ultimate goal. 

We were taught to give in relationships rather than taking, “unconditional love” as they call it! But we were seldom taught how to coach ourselves if we meet failures and hardships along the way. Sadly, we were never taught how to receive love. When we build self-love as the strongest foundation inside of us, these external problems, trials, and tribulations of life may shake us, but we will still be supported through self-love. 

The magic of (self) love

The moment you start putting yourself first and prioritizing your needs, your life begins to change. You begin to notice positive shifts in and around you. All one needs to do is love themselves right, rest is figureout-able in life.

Here’s what will happen when you learn to love yourself right:

A calm sense of self

Self-love motivates you to put your needs first, in doing so you will learn how to treat yourself with respect and expect the same from others. For the first time in life, you will feel grounded and at peace. You will begin to embrace your true self and the imperfectness that comes with it.

Attract healthy relationships

The amount of crap we tolerate in the name of “relationships” and “love” is truly shocking. Once you begin to recognize what’s truly best for you, you will realize how badly you were treated in certain kinds of toxic relationships. When you begin to set healthy boundaries, anything that is not meant for you and any sort of toxic bonds you entertained will eventually fade away. You will get crystal clear about what you want in life and say no to anything that isn’t that.

Art of giving and receiving

If you don’t love yourself, you cannot completely love others. To be truly able to give love, one must know how to love themselves. There is a sense of depletion and emptiness that comes from constantly giving to others. The more you give and do not receive the same love and energy back, the more lost and depleted you feel. Put yourself first and see how it begins to change your life positively.

Find true happiness

Self-love pushes you to do better, to be better. You will naturally begin to let go of all the insecurities that were standing in your way and set to reach your fullest potential. The insecurities and limiting beliefs we have about ourselves aren’t always true, our mind lies to us to keep us in a comfort zone that feels safe. But as you begin to shift your mindset with self-love you will learn to attract new possibilities for yourself.

And that is why you have every reason to celebrate LOVE and every reason to celebrate valentine’s day. It is our day.

This February, no matter how single you are or how insanely in love you are with your partner, take some time on the day of love, to show some for yourself. You deserve it. You owe it to yourself.

If you are looking to show some love for yourself this valentine’s day, We are running a 50% discount on Lush 3 for valentine’s day.