Animal drive is very powerful. Part of the reason we have survived and thrived on this planet for so long is a direct result of our evolution. At its core, our genes are basically telling us we have two functions in life, to survive and reproduce. Think about your own thoughts and actions, I bet they revolve around a few themes. Finding love and being happy are probably high on the list. Other things that may be high on your list include obtaining wealth (improves both survival and attracts the opposite sex) and getting in shape (improves survival and attracts the opposite sex). Crazy, huh? All that stuff going on in our lives really boils down to such basic human functions.
It is our human right to find happiness, and to avoid suffering. Happiness can come in all forms, but a lot of it comes from love. So its natural that finding love is a very important aspect in a human’s life. It’s also natural that greedy people will try to leverage that so they can make lots of money. The big money grab “holiday” is this weekend, I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. This day exploits the need for people to find happiness. It puts a lot of unneeded pressure on both partners, and it also has the tendency to make single people feel especially lonely this weekend. Guys absolutely hate this day. Women almost absolutely love it or hope for something special.
I want you to really notice how you feel around this day, or the week prior to it. Whether you’re in a relationship or you’re single, man or woman, I bet you feel different. I bet at least one emotion is heightened for one reason or another. I would suggest to everybody to not believe in the hype. The hype is always just that, hype. Completely blown out of proportion by the powers that be, this holiday is the worst one of them all because it exploits a very basic and extremely important human need. The “experts” that offer dating advice and that sort of thing around this time of year are either absorbed by the hype or are trying to get your money or both. Of course, as long as there is desire, then people will do just about anything to get what they desire. Because of this, this holiday isn’t going away anytime soon. So what can you do?
Truly love yourself. You are exactly as you should be. Even if you’re not at where you want to be in life, its ok. Get started today. But don’t beat yourself up. Love yourself. Celebrate yourself. Have enough self respect to actually take care of your body, to nourish your soul and quiet the mind. This is a lifelong necessity, not something that you do once in a while. Dance to your music. Really appreciate your alone time. This may sound ridiculous, but it really is important to enjoy the time you spend when your by yourself. Have you ever noticed how you’ll feel weird if you go to the movies by yourself or a restaurant by yourself? Or some people will think one is ok, but the other isn’t? Get comfortable with it, and if your not, I would suggest you do it. You can think about it as taking yourself out on a date (as weird as that sounds). It’s really important, if you don’t love yourself how do you expect somebody to love you? If you don’t love yourself how do you expect to love somebody else? You can’t (and if you think you can, I can assure you it isn’t unconditional).
It’s a shame that they didn’t teach us this in school. They never taught us any of the important stuff in school, like social dynamics, compassion for others, respect for self, how to find your passions, instead of all that less useful stuff. Enjoy your time alone, enjoy your time with others, enjoy life!