All We Need is Love

(Warning…the word “Love” is used a lot in this post, and I’ve chosen to capitalize it every time because in my opinion it is the most deserving word of capitalization in the English Language”

On this February, the month of Love I would like to share my thoughts on the topic. Many people, especially those who are single dislike Valentine’s Day. They feel it is a “Hallmark Holiday”, and just another way for companies to make money. Well sure, this may be true to an extent. Restaurants charge an obscene amount for an average quality meal that you can hardly get a reservation for, and back in 2021 my corner deli in NYC was charging $5 for a single rose and who knows how much it is now. Yes…the deli…where on any other day of the week you could get an entire dozen for $15. Ok, so perhaps it is a day for companies to capitalize on the holiday and gouge people out of their weekly wages, but if we are going to capitalize on any holiday shouldn’t it be this one? It’s clear what our world needs now more than anything is Love. I personally LOVE February and Valentine’s Day. I always have. Single, in a relationship, whatever my status I have always enjoyed this holiday. Maybe it is because my entire life my mom has made it special by making Valentine cookies, sending us sweet little gifts like pink heart socks and boxes of chocolates, and always sending a text to tell us “Happy Valentine’s Day” and how much she Loves us. She never disappoints, this year a heart shaped box of chocolates and a card made its way from Alaska across the world to Athens to find me. The tradition continues. Also, I just LOVE the colors red and pink. In the middle of the dreary cold winter in NYC, seeing these bright colors everywhere was so cheerful. And who says you have to be in a relationship to go out for dinner on Valentine’s Day? There have been many years I have gone out with my single girlfriends and have had a blast! It’s just another reason to celebrate, and a fantastic reason at that.

Valentine’s Day is not only about romantic Love. It is about celebrating Love of all kind. Love for your children, your siblings, your parents and your friends. Love for your pets, your work colleagues, your neighbors, and of course the most important of all Love for yourself. This is the hardest form of Love to give. It’s easy to send a friend a text with a cute little red heart emoji, and tell them how much you Love them, or tell your boyfriend or girlfriend how special and wonderful they are, but for some reason it is so hard to look at yourself with completely compassionate eyes and just say “I Love you.” “I Love you for all you are and everything you stand for.” “I Love you despite all the mistakes you have made, and all the wrong paths you have gone down in life.” “I Love you, and I will always be here for you no matter what.” I’m not sure if it’s maybe because we don’t truly feel we deserve all the good things that can happen to us in life, or perhaps it is from our humble upbringing that has taught us to not brag about ourselves and our accomplishments. Nevertheless, self Love is the most important Love of all. This is the Love that we need to work on and celebrate the most on Valentine’s Day and always because until we can find Love for ourselves we will never truly find peace.

This February, like every year I know I will feel loved by so many people close to me. I remember a few years ago when I first wrote this post, a Valentine came in the mail from one of my best childhood friends, followed by a package from another one. My mother sent a card with chocolates and a beautiful note. Everyone was wearing pink and red at work and in a cheerful mood, and my girlfriends were texting all weekend to say “Happy Valentine’s Day” and “I Love You.” I mean who could NOT love this day? Any of my friends who know me well, used to know that I was not especially the warm and fuzzy, lovey dovey type. That has changed. Maybe it has been 5 years of struggle from 2020 until today but, I can honestly say I Love Love and I Love Valentines day and I have made a commitment to myself this year to welcome love in from all over. From strangers to romantic interests, to family and friends. This is the real meaning of life. This is what we were put on this planet for. To love and be loved, wholly and tenderly in the right way from the right people and especially from ourselves.

When I lived in NYC, I watched the Broadway show “Come From Away” which takes place in the small town of Gander, Newfoundland on 9/11 when 38 planes were diverted to their airport and the population of the small town doubled overnight. This is a true story and it was a Love story. The outpouring of Love from the town’s residents towards mere strangers is so overwhelming in an amazing way. They did not even know how to hate or judge all the people that suddenly flooded their town and came from different religions and backgrounds and spoke different languages they had probably never even heard before. They didn’t care at all who these people were or where they came from. They opened their arms and their hearts and simply showed Love in a time of desperate need.

So on this first day of February from sunny and beautiful Athens, Greece I hope I have inspired you to look at this holiday in a different way. To reach out to the ones you love and remind them you are thinking of them, and most important, I hope it has inspired you to find the Love you have for yourself. Though life can be extremely difficult at times, and we can often feel alone, bitter and angry, all we need to do is remember the Love that is all around us and we will learn to live in Peace.

When I originally wrote this post in 2020 from New York City I had dedicated it to a wonderful woman who left us too soon, but whose love will be felt throughout our Greek Alaskan community forever. Today, in 2025 I am rewriting it with alterations, from Greece and it is dedicated to a dear friend of mine who shares her birthday with this holiday and it shows with all the Love she gives others, now and my wish for her is to give the same love to herself this year and always.