Valentine’s Day is this week. Flowers, candy, cards…I’m really not a fan and never have been. Having grown up in the era before teachers required you to bring a valentine for everyone in the class, I can remember being heartbroken when I looked in my valentine box and it was never as full as the box that the ‘curly redheaded girl’ had sitting on her desk. And…more often than not, the object of my affection did not return the adoration that was sent in his direction.

Then, I grew up.

I truly feel that ‘day’ holidays are silly…if you don’t feel and show those feelings on a consistent basis, a date on the calendar doesn’t make it so. I love my husband and we work to show each other so all the time. For us, it’s the little things…it’s the day to day things that we do for each other. They are things that we can most certainly do for ourselves, but it certainly is nice when we don’t have to. I can only speak for myself, but when I’m treated like this, I feel loved, cared for, seen, and heard.

A few days ago, as I was scrolling through Facebook, I came across a post from another flight attendant. She was on a layover and her room happened to be next to another flight attendant from her crew. She did not know this person, having only met her when they began the trip. She was awoken as she could hear the other flight attendant crying, yelling, and throwing things. She left her room and went and gently knocked on the other door. When the door opened, she saw someone who had been crying, eye liner streaming down her face. She immediately pulled her into a hug and said ‘I don’t know what’s going on and you don’t have to say a word, but I am here for you’.

That’s love.

There is so much negativity in the world right now. So much fear. People are on the defensive, it almost seems that everyone thinks that everyone else has ulterior motives for their actions.

Martin Luther King Jr said it best, ‘Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that’.

Did you hear that? ‘…only love can do that’.

You turn on the news and so often people are yelling at each other and talking over each other. How in heaven’s name is anyone being heard? Oh wait, they’re not. They are so busy and concerned at having their voice be heard that no one is listening to anyone. And everyone ends up feeling like crap and that everyone is against everyone. I don’t see much love there.

If there is a phrase from my childhood that bears repeating it’s this…’Treat others the way that you want to be treated’.

What would happen if we all did that? Acted from a place of love. Treat others the way that we want to be treated. I’m not saying that you have to feel or believe what the other person does, just don’t jump to a conclusion because you can. It can be so difficult though…especially when the ideas and beliefs are so different from our own or we find their thoughts absurd or offensive.

So…I challenge you to this. Be passionate. Be caring. Be sympathetic. Be empathetic if at all possible. Be still and listen. Be kind.

To paraphrase Ghandi, be the love you want to see in this world.