It's in the way you feel when you see someone who makes your heart skip a beat. It's the way you celebrate with your friends when they have good news to share, or when you share a laugh with someone who needs it. It's in the way someone gives you a smile or a friendly nod when they pass by on the street. Love is everywhere we choose to see it.
In the same way, it's easy to mistake love for so many things. Love isn't about shiny new things or grand gestures—it isn't even necessarily something you can do or have. In fact, the only thing we can say for sure about love is that we can’t define it with words alone.
Love is about being comfortable being exactly who you are. It is an act of kindness and compassion, like when someone takes the time to listen to you, or when they take your hand in theirs and tell you that everything will be okay. It's about the way someone looks at you, or how your partner makes you feel safe and secure just by being there for you when no one else is around. It's about the way your best friend always seems to know what's going on in your life without having to ask any questions first.
Love isn't always easy, but it's worth fighting for. When we're able to love ourselves and others, it makes our lives more meaningful and whole. We wouldn't know love if we didn't experience moments of doubt, fear or insecurity—these are all part of the process of learning how to love yourself and others.
Love means seeing and treating others the way they want to be seen and treated. It's choosing kindness over hurt; understanding over judgement; being willing to see another's point of view rather than arguing your own. Ultimately, love is a choice, one we have to make every day.
This Valentine's Day, we hope you love a lot, but don't forget to love yourself and your special people year round too!