Valentine’s Day: In Praise of Love in All Its Forms

It begins with that first spark.

You know the one.

That flutter in your chest when a name lights up your phone. The way your thoughts keep circling back to one person. How your heart races when they call, and the world feels brighter—colors sharper—when you see their smile. The way you melt when they say your name.

It’s intoxicating. Not quite love yet, but the anticipation of love. Dopamine saturating your brain. Hope whispering, maybe. It’s a heady, delicious feeling—and it’s worth celebrating.

Then comes early love.

The phase where hours disappear because you’re talking—really talking. About dreams, fears, childhood stories, what matters and what doesn’t. You sit together, wrapped in conversation, forgetting the rest of the world exists. In this stage, they can do no wrong. Even disagreements feel electric, because you’re learning each other.

This stage isn’t frivolous. It’s sacred groundwork. Curiosity. Vulnerability. Choice.

And yes—there’s the physical love.

The glorious, embodied expression of connection. The excitement of learning your lover’s body—what they like, what they don’t, how you fit together. When the emotional foundation is strong, sex becomes more than sex. It becomes communication. Trust. Presence.

It’s not just pleasure—it’s soul-satisfying, a hard-earned reward for the intimacy built long before bodies touched.

But there is another kind of love we don’t celebrate nearly enough.

The love that stays.

When the newness cools and the relationship deepens. When you negotiate shared space, align long-term goals, build community together. When disagreements arise—not as threats, but as opportunities to learn how to fight for the relationship instead of against it.

This is mature love.

The love where someone sees you clearly—and loves you anyway. Where you bear witness to each other’s lives. Where trust replaces adrenaline. Where nonjudgmental positive regard flows both ways.

This love doesn’t shout. It steadies. It grows alongside you.

That is love worth celebrating on Valentine’s Day.

And it doesn’t stop with romance.

The love of a parent for a child. A child for a parent. The bonds between siblings. The deep, sustaining love of friends who know your story and choose you anyway. Family—by blood or by choice.

These loves are the closest we will ever come to heaven on earth.

So this Valentine’s Day, celebrate all of it.
The spark. The fire. The embers. The steady warmth that lasts.

Not with obligatory gifts—but with presence, gratitude, and courage.

Love, in all its forms, is worthy. 💜