Gal, Pal or Val
Did you celebrate Galentines Day Yesterday? You know, the day before February 14 that is set aside to honor your female friendships.
Or maybe you're celebrating Palentines Day. A celebration of platonic love between friends.
Maybe you're buying a gift for your special pet. I heard one statistic that said more people were buying gifts for pets than other humans.
Whatever, or whoever, you're celebrating today, February 14, Valentine’s Day, remember to celebrate YOU too. You are your primary relationship. If you don't have plans of love and snuggles with something or someone clean shaven or furry, try these sure-fire ways to indulge yourself.
Think about what your love language is, as taken from Gary Chapman’s best selling book The 5 Love Languages:
quality time
physical touch
words of affirmation
receiving gifts
acts of service (devotion)
Now, you think I'm going to write that you can give this to yourself and you're right. In all these categories you can find a way to give yourself something that represents one of these languages.
For quality time, you can read a good book or take a bubble bath.
For physical touch, you can get a massage or spend time rubbing your own feet or ....engaging with a bedroom accessory (a term I just learned from a Pure Romance distributor).
For words of affirmation, you can select a phrase and repeat it to yourself, using stickers to place around your house reminding you to repeat this phrase every time you see a sticker (do this for a long time until the phrase settles into your brain).
For receiving gifts, you can buy your inner child something it craves (doesn't have to be expensive - I bought myself a new teddy bear recently for less than $10).
For acts of service you can step outside yourself and offer someone else your time and attention helping with something they need. This helps you because you step outside of yourself and whatever worry, challenge, or life situation that may be difficult gets a reprieve from your brain (and will often sort itself out when not focussed on).
And you're right, I do say do one or all of these for yourself, but I also offer, that once you determine what makes you happiest (one or more of these love languages) that you engage another person into doing them with you. It’s in community that we feel most loved.
For quality time, you can invite someone out to coffee or a walk in a tranquil setting.
For physical touch, you can offer to rub someones shoulders or their feet or ... (if you're in a safe intimate relationship).
For words of affirmation, you can find numerous things about someone else that you admire and shower them with affirmations and ask them to do the same for you.
For receiving gifts, you can "gift" someone else something small but meaningful (this might even be one of the other love languages as described here)
For acts of service, you can ask someone for help with something you need doing. Often we don't ask because we don't want to "bother" someone else, but just as we feel good to help others, they feel good helping us too when we ask with kindness and an open loving heart.
So, whoever you're celebrating with or whatever you’re celebrating today, do it with love, kindness, gentleness, and then vow to make it a weekly, or daily, practice. The love you show and give will be returned to you every day of the year.
Every Day Can Be Valentine's Day as I wrote about before. You just have to choose to make it so.