Hooray for love!

I am sure that many of you are painfully aware that today is Valentine's Day... and of course, for some it's a good thing. For the rest of you, you might be sitting there thinking that this day is:

a) quite stupid and/or meaningless
b) a painful reminder of how alone you are/might be
c) a day where you'll spend WAY too much money telling someone what they should already know
or even...
d) just another snowy/dreary day to get through

What I hope is actually that none of those things listed above actually applies to anyone I know, and instead what you should be thinking is that somewhere, somebody loves YOU. That's right. I don't think this day was ever intended to become as commercial as it has, I mean... I have heard several people remark about how this was another "Hallmark Holiday" to get through-- and even I was thinking that when I saw the Valentine's decorations pop up right BEFORE New Year's. But really, I think that when it's all said and done... we have to remember the actual purpose of the day.

So, in honor of St. Valentine-- I thought I would share a little HISstory in this posting and tell you just WHO St. Valentine was. To do this, I went to a far more reliable source than good ol' Wikipedia, and instead went here: The History of Valentine's Day.

Turns out, "One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men — his crop of potential soldiers. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death... According to one legend, Valentine actually sent the first 'valentine' greeting himself. While in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl — who may have been his jailor's daughter — who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed 'From your Valentine,' an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories certainly emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic, and, most importantly, romantic figure. It's no surprise that by the Middle Ages, Valentine was one of the most popular saints in England and France." ~ History Channel

So, with the exception of writing to a young girl and professing his love for her (and really, we can't be too judgmental because we don't know how young she really was)... I guess he would still be considered a noble guy, even today. But, if you think about it-- it's all about LOVE. Love, in and of itself, probably isn't a bad thing. Love does some pretty good things and some of the behaviors associated with love actually have beneficial effects for some people.

For example, kissing... "'Kissing is not just kissing. It is a major escalation or de-escalation point in a powerful process of mate choice,' said Helen Fisher, professor at Rutgers University and author of the book "Why Him, Why Her: Finding Real Love by Understanding Your Personality Type." Not only does this one little action determine whether or not we will "stick around with our partner" (Who wants to date a bad kisser?), we can also find out things about a persons immune system apparently!

"A person receives information about the person he or she is smooching by locking lips, Fisher said. A kiss transmits smells, tastes, sound and tactile signals that all affect how the individuals perceive each other and, ultimately, whether they will want to kiss again. Women tend to be attracted to male partners with a different immune system makeup from their own, Fisher said. They subconsciously detect information about a partner's immune system through smell during kissing, she said."

I guess you could argue that it all comes back to biology and persistence/survival of the healthier species, right? :) Sure. But perhaps my most favorite part of today is the thought of hearing some of the stories of how people came together... I even had a sorority sister tell a short version of how she and her man ended up together online!

What do I want you to get from today's posting? Well, certainly that love is way MORE than flowers, candy or just saying "I love you". To me, love is above and beyond all of those things and none of those things even begin to matter if you only feel obligated to do it today, but at no other time during the year. My prayer for all of my readers (however many of you there are) is that you know that once again, somewhere... someone TRULY LOVES YOU.

Even little ol' me. :)