Being careful on Valentine’s Day

Valentine day was again here with all the hype and glamour associated with it. Due to the vigorous marketing strategies of various companies selling various related products it has really become a big day all over the world. One has to see the roses and packed gift items in all stores for the D day and feel the impact of Valentine’s Day. Valentine day symbolizes love. Most often people consider it to be, love between a boy and girl. Many boys and girls do fall in love on valentine’s day, while choosing a, “Valentine”’ and exchanging gifts. But not all the love stories beginning on this day end happily. Though promises of lifelong love and dedication are made this day, but not all are fulfilled. Therefore, in spite of being under the influence of heavy aura of, “Valentine”, day, it is prudent for the boy and girl to assess another person thoroughly before falling head long in love. Cupid the symbol and usherer of love is closely linked to Valentine day. Here it would be worthwhile to recall the story of Cupid as per Roman mythology. Cupid, the son of Venus, fell hopelessly in love with a beautiful princess called Psyche. They get married against wishes of Venus on the condition that he should never be seen by her, because it was an alliance between an earthly and a celestial being. Therefore he visited her only in the dark and flew away before light. So their new life began happily. Provoked by her sisters, one night, Psyche could not contain her curiosity and lit a lamp to see Cupid. He flew out immediately, never to return. Psyche turned into a wreck, wandering around mountains, till the Gods took pity on her and took her to heaven. There are different versions of this story. But the basic theme has much similarity to what happens even today in such mismatched affairs and marriages. The boy and girl fall hopelessly in love. In haste they start their affair and it continues well till they live in a fantasy world. But the moment one of them shows his or her true, ”face”, the affair is finished and life becomes miserable for both of them. If they are not married, the boy simply walks out of the affair, with no liability or attachment. At times, he leaves the girl pregnant or with a child and that becomes the end for a career or any future prospects for the girl. In some cases, the girl out in search of greener pastures leaves the boy the moment she finds somebody more strong financially. If the affair culminates in marriage and they have to face the ground realities of life, all love filled speeches are replaced by bitter arguments. There is either a divorce or separation and poor children become the innocent victims of such loveless marriage. Even if they continue to stay together for some reason, no love is lost between them and they live like two strangers under same roof. In all such affairs, nobody lives happily. The poor victimized person always feels miserable and the one to walk out also feels guilty or uneasy. Thus the psyche of both parties gets damaged irrevocably. The root cause of all such problems is the haste with which people go to seek a, “Valentine”, on, “Valentine’s” day. In most of these cases, particularly in case of teenagers and adolescents it is an infatuation they feel for the opposite sex, which is mistaken for love. Much later they realize their folly when unfortunately much harm has been done. Due to the dynamic marketing strategy in relation to Valentine’s Day, there is much pressure to have a date on this day or exchange gifts with a close friend. The adolescents and teenagers succumb more to lure of such advertisements. They lack the maturity to judge between a right and wrong person. They tend to get attracted and get carried away by the first person of the opposite gender who woos them. Whatever disaster happens later is damaging for both of them. Therefore always be cautious before giving a rose or fixing a date on Valentine’s date. One can think coolly, wait and judge a person prudently before starting a relationship with him or her. It is better to wait for some time, even years to find a right person, rather than jumping on the bandwagon and repenting later. After all a, “Valentine”, does not necessarily have to be a boy friend or girl friend. Your parents, brothers, sisters or close friends, anyone can be that. It is a day for all encompassing universal love. So be careful on Valentine’s Day to avoid a hasty decision. rachna212002@yahoo.co.uk