Too many people reserve considerable indignation for Valentine’s Day.  Some of my friends are among them.  The day engenders depression because they are alone.  I have said before that no one should seek self-validation in another person.  Regardless of how satisfying a relationship may be, those who can not find happiness in their own being will never truly be happy with someone else, and hiding behind the fulfillment of a significant other only denies true happiness and satisfaction.  Ultimately, such arrangements are self-destructive.

Despite the negative impressions of this manufactured holiday by those who feel slighted by not fulfilling their perceived obligation to “be with someone” on this day, I am not one of them.  This day brings quite a bit of happiness into the lives of a great many people.  I see lovers reinvigorating their devotion and love through the simplest of gestures, I see troubled relationships smoothed out as disagreements are set aside, I see the single crowd empowered finally to ask out that special person, and I see heartfelt joy and love in the reunion of distant soul mates.  The splash of romance is intoxicating, and it certainly never hurt anyone.

I am single this Valentine’s Day.  Does that bother me?  Of course not.  I would be lying if I said there is not the occasional twinge of loneliness.  Amazingly, today does not intensify those feelings.  I am experiencing quite the opposite, in fact.  I’m in a rather good mood, all things considered.  I have even wallowed in the sublime aura of my friends celebrating the holiday in their own relationships.  Am I unlucky not to have found someone yet?  Not at all despite what some may think.  There is still the hectic pace of a thankless job, the stress resulting from the sheer act of survival, the fatigue of the rapid and unrelenting pace of life, and the same litany of concerns that plague all humans trying to get by.

Nevertheless, I am happy with myself.  By no means am I saying there aren’t things I’d like to change with my appearance, in my life, or even my personality, but I am content with who I am and the life I have.  I change things here and there if they are within my control.  Who doesn’t?  I do it, however, for me and no one else.  Those things I can not control, like becoming disgustingly rich or marrying that special someone, are chance occurrences and have no bearing on my ability to find joy in living.

Sitting here on this February day, I feel loved.  The Kids, my family, my friends…  Would that so many others similarly inventory their lives before feeding their aloneness with their joy.  It is a sacrifice of heart, especially on this day, to believe that lacking one individual negates fulfillment from so many other sources.