Ownership of Passion "To love is to risk not being loved in return. To hope is to risk pain. To try is to risk failure, but risks must be taken, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing."
In the beginning, when there was purity of thought, Valentines Day was a day to connect with loved ones in a special manner. Perhaps it was some private time, a time to celebrate recent accomplishments or simply an excuse to renew the sparkle in each other's eyes. It included all forms of love, romantic, platonic and familiar.
"We believe in optimism rather than pessimism, hope rather than despair, learning in the place of dogma, truth instead of ignorance, joy rather than guild or sin, tolerance in the place of fear, love instead of hatred, compassion over selfishness, beauty instead of ugliness and reason rather than blind faith or irrationality."
Patrocoles, Gothenburg Humanistic Student Academy
Modern society has twisted Valentines Day into another commercialized marketing scheme designed to extract as many dollars from the public into corporate cash registers as possible. This mugging of tradition brings forth pressure, through the media, for society to conform. Those that do not, are cast aside, and pitied as they are unloved.
"To be nobody but yourself, in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else, means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting. "
E.E. Cummings
So those of us who rebel against the corporate purchase of custom will not seek the Hallmark moment – our moment will be our own, our love will be forever – not our diamonds, roses will bloom in the garden – not wilt in glass receptacles.
" I love you, not for what you are, but what I am when I am with you."
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posted 13 February 2008 02:28 PM
