At my daughter’s high school, the week before Valentine’s Day is dubbed Spread the Love Week. The activities of the week are designed to celebrate love, and not just on a single day. Sharing acts of love over a whole week instead of just a single day is an excellent idea. The focus of the week is a Make-A-Wish recipient that the school honors. Fundraising and spirit activities generate excitement, generosity, and love for the honoree. Each day, the student body has a theme that relates to the Make-a-Wish child. One day is dedicated to wearing the child’s favorite color, another observes the child’s interests, and so on. The acts themselves are small individually but large cumulatively. The week concludes with an assembly at which the child’s wish is granted.
Another aspect of love that high schoolers are learning is the notion of self-love. Some of the fundraising is self-serving in that the students reap the benefits also. They can eat at specific restaurants, buy bundt cakes for themselves or a special someone, or get Valentine’s dance tickets. There’s nothing wrong with some self-love. When we love ourselves, our capacity to love others increases. We could all use the reminder to spread love more often and include ourselves in our generosity.
Love is a call to action that brings people together. Valentine’s Day is just that, a day of love, but love needs to be displayed and practiced every day. The more you give away, the more you get back, so spread the love often and discover for yourself how loved you are in return.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
