Confession: I used to be bitter about Valentine’s Day—regardless of whether or not I was seeing anyone at the time. The whole theory about Hallmark creating it to make extra profits spurred my anti-capitalist rage. I couldn’t believe that we needed a specific day to tell someone that we loved them.

For years I even hosted anti-Valentine’s Day themed parties for those who also held built-up resentments towards the holiday as a place to let loose and forget about the absence of love that they might be feeling. One of the best was gothic themed—we all wore black, wrote bad poetry, and listened to The Smiths all night long.

Then I got older and I realized that those parties—even though they were against Valentine’s Day—were still about love. And that there is nothing inherently wrong with taking a day, one out of the entire 365, to both reexamine and appreciate the love we have in our lives, whether romantic or otherwise.

This Valentine’s Day as a single lady in the city, I’m going to celebrate the love that already surrounds me, love from my friends, family and myself.

Self-love is often overlooked but vital for any other healthy relationships to form. The cliché “you can’t love anyone else until you love yourself” is true for a reason, what better time than the day of love to both re-evaluate how we our loving ourselves but what we can do to love ourselves more.

Here are 6 Ways I’m Celebrating the Holiday of Love

 

1. By Writing “Love” Letters

I plan to get a stack of cards and write notes to all my friends and family telling each one of them what makes them special in my life.

2. By Practicing A 10-Minute Meditation

Just to clear my head of the junk that might be up there and to find peace for a moment before returning to the sea of red and pink everything.

3. Yoga

To love one’s self means to take care of one’s mind, body and spirit and a terrific way to connect to all three is through yoga. I love doing back bends, warrior two poses, headstands— anything that makes me feel stronger, more flexible, better connected to myself and my surroundings.

4. By Taking a Hot Lavender Bath

Lavender has so many benefits to the body and in a bath it’s great for aching muscles, relaxation and stress relief. Plus it just smells good.

5. Having a Singles Mingle

This is where I gather all of my friends who are currently not participating in romantic relationships and we go out for martinis and manicures or we sit around my Amish fireplace and drink wine and chit-chat about life.

6. Eating Chocolate

It’s everywhere! I can’t say no. So instead, I say yes to the dark, organic, vegan chocolate and I indulge. Why not? It’s lovely and it’s a good thing to be in love with, at least for a night. Later I can tell my friends that I had a one night stand with a chocolate bar on Valentine’s Day, I’m sure they will be more than impressed and want all the juicy details. Or not. But either way, I’m going to have a good time.

So, I’m super excited about V-Day this year, and actually, I might just make this a weekly routine because I love love and why not be more loving to myself and to others all the time?

[photo: via flickr]