A very Happy Valentine’s Day to all of you! Yes, we are finally at the 7th and the last day of this week of Love, and honestly, it has been the best! I have discovered so many new things for myself and through the process of writing these thoughts out for you, I have grown, and become a better version of myself! And so, to all of those who have stuck around for the last seven days, I am truly grateful to you from the bottom of my heart, and I really hope that this Valentine’s Day, and on all the ones in the future, you feel and find true love within yourself, and take it to the next level!
Over the past week, we have covered a lot of ground! From the definition of true love, to building the foundation of a strong relationship, we have learned a lot and grown a lot! And today is a culmination, a moment of closure, and above all, a final lesson that will solidify joy, happiness, peace and certainty as the foundations of all the relationships that we have in our lives, whether romantic or not.
So, on this Valentine’s Day, are you ready to lay the final stone and make your life an epitome of true love, joy, and happiness? Let’s begin!
To Love With Happiness, You Need to Love With Courage
That simple formula applies to almost everything in life. To find happiness, you need courage. And when it comes to love, courage plays a really big role. And if you embrace it this Valentine’s Day, you will save yourself from so many unnecessary fights, problems, and misunderstandings in all your relationships. Now, who wouldn’t want that!
So, let’s begin that journey, by understanding what it means to love with courage. And this, like the meaning of love itself, is very free flowing, and subjective. Courage means a lot of different things to different people. Google defines it as mental strength that helps you deal with fear and persevere through difficulties. While that’s true, the meaning of love along with courage runs deeper than that.
Do you remember the post where we discussed at length that love and fear have nothing in common, and we shouldn’t feel afraid to express our love? That has a lot to do with courageous love. Let’s call it that! It takes courage to express your love for someone, but it also takes a lot of courage to love yourself and to receive the love that you are worthy of. It takes courage to set the bar that high, because often times, we don’t think we’ll find someone who loves us. The years of negative conditioning and looking down on ourselves makes it seem like a very real possibility. To break away from those thoughts, focus on ourselves, and grow so much as a person to be able to give and accept true love, is a truly courageous act!
And the power of courage goes way beyond just starting a relationship. You require courage to maintain and keep growing in a healthy relationship too: whether that’s your own relationship with yourself or the one with your partner. When you begin a relationship with a strong foundation, and on all the pillars that we have talked about these last seven days, you become confident and proud of it. You don’t feel the need to hide or any kind of fear about what others will say. You love yourself and you love the person you love, and that’s all that matters. Really. And along with that, the meaning of courage in a relationship expands to the rough, not so good patches that come in between.
Let’s be honest. No relationship is smooth sailing. Not even the one with ourselves. And when those rocky times hit, we are at our most vulnerable, and if we say or do something wrong in those moments, it could lead to a downward spiral. And you know how that movie ends.
So, it’s extremely critical to be able to have enough trust in each other and most importantly, the courage to say the right things in those tough times, even if that is admitting that we’re wrong, and pointing out to the other person that they’ve erred at some point or the other. To be able to have those conversations is courageous love, and it’s the final, most important pillar.
The Power and Importance of Clear and Direct Communication
Most relationships fail because of one thing, a lack of clear communication which leads to misunderstandings that can’t be solved. And the reason behind that lack of communication is that when two people are going through a tough time together, it’s challenging to have that difficult, honest, and raw conversation because they feel that they might lose that person when they have those conversations. But silence leads to the same result.
That’s why, even when you don’t feel like it, you must have the courage to communicate directly and talk about the difficult things, the misunderstandings, the hurtful feelings, or any other issue that’s creating those problems for you. If your relationship is built on a strong foundation of trust and transparency, this will be easier.
It doesn’t feel natural, because books, movies, and songs often show the really good part of a relationship, or the breakup. These real, raw conversations aren’t dramatic or as interesting as a blooming romance or a fight out in the rain at 2 AM, but they are way more important.
If you love with courage, you will bring these conversations up and have them. We often think that it will feel stupid or unnecessary, but when you bring those feelings into words and express them in the open, the other person also feels comfortable to share their grudges and together, you can work through that.
These conversations don’t only apply to your relationships with others, but in your relationship with yourself too. If you feel you’re not up to the mark, if you are doubting yourself, and if you’re thinking negatively about yourself, sit down. Reflect. And ask yourself why. Work through it and all of those thoughts will go away and you will come back stronger.
And that, is the final lesson that culminates the week of love! The truth is that every day isn’t going to be romantic, but that’s just a part of the process. If you believe in your love, you will have these difficult conversations and sort out problems before they become unbearable and uncontrollable.
As we close in on this week of Love and celebrate Valentine’s Day together, I want to leave you with one final lesson: no relationship ever went down because there was too much communication. It was always a lack of communication and understanding.
Change that pattern in your life and relationships; it will make a world of difference!
Wishing you love,
Prabhsimrat