After the hate of Super Bowl Sunday has faded, and the groundhog has squeezed his plump hindquarters out of his hole, and the winter doldrums reach their dour, gray peak, we find the sunny artifice of Valentine’s Day. The day when you feel bad for being single and having no one special to kiss, or the day when you don’t lavish enough attention on your special someone and either way end up feeling clumsy in your own heart. We all know this day means nothing and everything. It is a day to compare your love to the love you see all around you. Oh, did your co-worker get flowers, did your sister get a chocolate truffle the size of a grapefruit, or did the neighbor get a big diamond ring from Zales? Are you feeling sufficiently jealous of others and coveting what they received? At least at Christmas, we can get past the jealousy and envy by celebrating in our own special way.

Some people go to the cinema, or eat a huge feast with family, some go on holiday, or hibernate with a DVD collection. But on V Day, there is only one way to do anything, and that is with flowers, chocolates, terrible tasting heart candy and an expensive meal at your local, romantic Italian ristorante. The Hallmarks of the world found a way to get a consumer boom in the otherwise slow holiday season between New Years and Easter. The day was created by greed and fed by the need. The need to feel loved.

If we can all remember the day is about celebrating the love between people and not the American idea of money buying love, we could have a less stressful moment. Don’t buy things, create memories together. If you have the money, create a big, flashy memory. If you’re broke, watch a sunset together. In either case, find something to celebrate yourselves and your relationship.

Someone told me yesterday, “All life is made of, is the relationships between people.”  It’s true to an extent; animals, nature and your setting play their own part too, but people make or break people. Make someone’s day today with a smile and a wish for good karma. There is no better gift than a positive future.