Valentine's Disclaimer: Romance is Spontaneous!

Still from Across the Universe

Another year, another red wave in the stores and a rush to make a romantic stand (or be reminded of the absence of need to express anything for anyone special). I've spent many a Valentine's alone reflecting on the meaning of the holiday. I have my own. I choose to consider the broader concept of love: not the passionate tormented love, but the one that brings peace.

St. Valentine with Luke

I love Love. It's the air I breathe and the fire in my heart. Anything I do, I do with love. I dance with love: for the art, for the presence it allows me to reach. Any friends, family or relationships I have, I care for with love. Everyone has a purpose and it is not up to me to decide which it is: I love and accept with faith that the people in my life have something to teach me and perhaps, I may be able to help them as well.

For the lonely hearts: love your friends, your family and everything that makes your life so exciting. The right people walk into our lives when we are happy because that's when we shine. And the time you'll spend between now and then, you will spend fulfilled.

I think love is a wonderful, mysterious, powerful thing. I think it should be celebrated. To celebrate it is to mark it with something special or unique because every love story, whether parent/child, best friends or lovers is authentic. Moreover, I think that reducing Love to chocolates, lingerie and flowers is cheap and superficial. Don't get me wrong, I fully encourage romance. But true romance is not cliché. Rather, it's spontaneous.

Candy can talk...

Romance is when your heart skips a beat because your loved one said something totally quirky that only you two understand. It's feeling special because you share a thought, a laugh, a moment. Romance is improvised. It's expressing yourself as genuinely as possible with the means at hand. It's picking a flower from a field of wild daisies, it's a note wishing you a good day, it's sharing your snack even when you're hungry, it's acting silly for a smile, dancing close in a kitchen wearing a tea towell. It's asking about someone's favourite childhood memories. That's the stuff that leads to a happy heart.

I am very fortunate to be with someone who fosters creative interests, who strives for happiness daily and sees the world through his own glasses; he thinks outside the box. Even though I am close to him, he manages to surprise me. What a ride! I can honestly say his antics warm my heart, draw many smiles and... fill my tummy with deliciousness! 

(c) Kristina Jensen, 2011

Love is more than romance. You see it in how a parent cares for a child, how devoted a teacher is to a class, how supportive a friend and how much of a friend your lover is to you. Great romance and love stories aren't made of lifetimes of trips to Monaco, bubble baths and fine dining. The happiest of people are the ones who want the life they live. What makes it so great is how you consciously make everyday an adventure. What makes Love so delightful is the balance between the thrill and the haven. It's how you discover each other little by little, the amazing fibre and the beautifully imperfect, and accept every part lovingly as you uncover the mystery, which you will never fully grasp...

Happy Valentine's Day!