Let's All Feel the Love On Valentine's Day

Photo by phanlop88 via Freedigitalphotos.

Love is such a complex feeling that has inspired a myriad of researchers to study about it. On the physiological level, it has often been studied in relation to brain scans and neurotransmitters. On the sociological level, dating and marriage patterns are analyzed in order to decipher this complicated phenomenon. Even in literature, there is almost an infinite number of works depicting different perspectives on love.

Despite the complex nature of love, one thing is for sure: it is universal. Yet, it is expressed in different ways. The differences depend on the person's personality and culture. Some express it so openly as if they wanted to shout their feelings to the world. Others are more subtle. What's romantic depends on the person's country of origin. For instance, carrying a lady on the man's back is romantic in Japan and Korea, as it signifies that a man will take care of the woman forever. However, this same behavior is considered, if not offensive, childish to the Western counterpart.

It's Valentine's Day, and I'm quite sure that different people have different feelings on this day. I'm quite sure that even those with lovers would sometimes dread V-day as it is the time when expectations and pressures are imposed upon them. In our social networking era, lonely single people would feel even lonelier due to the continuous V-day related posts that appear on their feeds. Posts such as flowers and gifts received are very common in the news feeds around this time. Some are even very frank about their loneliness as could be seen in their status updates. I feel bad for them. This special day is not supposed to make people lonely.

Valentine's Day is so commercialized and highly focuses on romantic love. Yet, I believe that everyone is entitled to have their share on this celebration. After all, romantic love isn't the only form of love. Families and friends alike could also spend their time together during this special moment. May everyone feel the love today. Happy Heart's Day to you all!