Hoping for Red Roses? The Gift of Self-Love Is Better!

I have been thinking a lot about Valentine's Day. It a stressful time for many women. Our culture puts much emphasis on the notion that you are only truly loved if you are recognized, affirmed and gifted with traditional tokens of romantic love on Valentine's Day that the media works very hard to sell to us.

You know what I am talking about: Valentines addressed "To the One I Love" complete with at least a dozen red roses (two dozen is now cosidered "standard"), heart shaped boxes of chocolates, scented candles, lingerie, perfume, candlelit dinners, gems or pearls, and romantic romps amidst satin sheets in luxury hotels. And then there are the matching red sateen his-and-hers pajama sets. Sexy games complete with feathers and risque dice. Heart-shaped lockets. Diamond rings. Cute teddy bears holding watches and earrings, pink phones, pink ipods, and weekend getaways to Vegas. The list is long and wide.

Hmmm. Don't get me wrong. I think all of these gifts are WONDERFUL and I would love to receive at least a few. But, as hard as the media might try to convince us that these are the gifts that should be purchased for us, and that these are the gifts we want, and despite the subtle and not-so-subtle hints women will offer up, or even the boldest of "What I Want for Valentine's Day" lists placed on a kitchen counter, the reality is -- for millions of reasons -- MILLIONS and MILLIONS of women will not receive any recognition at all on this holiday designated for Love...

I sent a Pinwheel Girl Valentine last year to 100 women. The message was simple: "...I know you...you're an original..." The card featured a joyously dancing Pinwheel Girl holding out your heart to you, the reader, in the palm of her hand. The point, I hope, was clear. "Here it is," she was saying. "I'm giving your heart back to you in case you lost it, forgot about it, gave it away, or had it broken.""Here it is...I'm handing it back to you."

But understanding that the Pinwheel Girl is really a metaphor for YOU, for Every Woman, she is really saying "you have always had your own Heart in your own hands...it's always been there...and you will always be the keeper of your own Heart...not someone else...so what you thought was once lost or might have been unrecognized is really still available to you...and here it is..." In case you forgot that, she arrived on this Big Holiday of Love to remind you that you still have your Heart, it is there for you for your own taking, and the key to a great and not-so-empty Valentine's Day is to recognize your very own Heart yourself.

The feedback was astonishing. Since when do you get thank you cards, notes and emails for sending someone a card? I did. I heard from MANY of the 100 women who said "Your Pinwheel Girl Valentine was the only Valentine I received this year...THANK YOU."

The Pinwheel Girl Valentines are about self-love; this is the best kind of love of all...not a selfish, self-centered kind of self-love, but a self-love that is about self-care, self-esteem, self-respect, and self-preservation. The Valentines bear a simple message, one that reminds us that without self-love we cannot truly love another, and therefore gifts of flowers, chocolates, cards, lingerie, and the like, eventually feel empty and simply "not enough."

This year's Valentine image features the Pinwheel Girl holding not one but seven bright red hearts and tossing them into the air (the wind) above her head...seven hearts for seven stages of transformation. The image has a similar energy to last year's card -- simple, calm yet exhilarating, and streamlined. The theme is "...Love is in the air...feel the breeze..."

She reminds us that Love is literally everywhere and it comes to us in many forms. There is more to Love than just the romantic version stereotypically celebrated on Valentine's Day. Love is in the air, in the wind that animates us and makes us who we are, it is everywhere, all around us, every day, but we must look for it, seek it out, and feel its breeze touching us, often at unexpected times from unexpected sources. If we do so, we will feel love and loved -- whether or not we receive red roses, exquisite wine, candlelit dinners, or any of the other traditional Valentine's gifts.

The 2009 Pinwheel Girl Valentine comes to you in the form of an animated video this year!! I hope you like it. It is only a minute or so long...take a look and then reflect on your own self-love and the love that surrounds you everyday...and then pass this message and video on to another woman you know, a sister, friend, cousin, aunt, mother, godmother, daughter...so she can "feel the breeze" too...I know you...You're an original...Love is in the air...Feel the breeze...

Here is the link to your Pinwheel Girl Video Valentine! http://animoto.com/play/MSjgbJEufpNVCtwfFbyxgQ?from=share

Happy Valentine's Day!
Warm Winds To You All!