Happy Valentine’s Day 2022 – Celebrating Romantic Love

I believe in the certainty of romantic love. 

I believe that at some point in the human journey, you will be struck by Cupid’s arrow and filled with unexpected emotions that will inspire you to make unexplained moves in your life.

This year, I’m celebrating that wondrous feeling by reading poetry (which is my first love) and listening to my favorite love songs on YouTube on the subject.   Of course, I’m eating chocolates, drinking some red wine, and writing this blog post while I do it.

In the poem “Resignation,” Nikki Giovanni writes all the reasons to love someone and how one can submit to that type of love. 

In the song “Just Because,” Anita Baker croons about loving someone in an emotional way that is more than words can explain.   I know some of us can relate to being tongue-tied by those loving feelings.

Let’s not forget the most famous love poem “How Do I Love Thee?” (Sonnet 43) by Elizabeth Barrett Browning.  The last statement is so powerful “I shall love thee better after death.”  I know that love never dies.

And, what about that one chance for love that Luther Vandross sings about in “If Only for One Night.”  He is willing to risk everything just for an opportunity to show his love.   How many stories have been written about that kind of love?   I know we all can name a few of our favorites.

True romantic love brings an unequaled passion.   Here are a couple of songs that celebrate that type of passion.   Listen and see if you can relate to them.

In “A Long Walk,” Jill Scott tells her lover, “I can feel everything that you bring.”  She sings about all the possible ways they can explore their connection.  

In “Fortunate,” Maxwell sings about this new love’s impact on his life.   He says, “I’ve never felt a feeling so right.”  It seems his daily experiences are changed through the lenses of his new emotion.

Some believe romantic love is a myth, but how can that be so when so many poems, songs, and stories are written about it.

Some believe that love is a decision. 

Is it?  Are you deciding to commit to someone?  

Are you deciding to follow your emotions? 

What exactly is the decision?

Whatever you decide, don’t let the chance for true romantic love pass you by.  

It IS better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.

What do you think about Romantic Love?