Valentine's Day

Have you ever experienced true love?

I'm not sharing any breaking news here. We all know that Valentine's Day is a time for romance, the perfect period to surprise or to be surprised; the opportunity to show where our heart stands, to hear the sound of the "L" word whispering in our ears first thing in the morning; to start a new relationship or maybe to realize it's time to leave: "Hey, we need to talk". 

This is also the moment when society brings on the pressure: "Are you single? Why? You are so handsome..." It's the same when we look for a job being unemployed; they think we may have a problem. Unfortunately people - especially in the gay scene - attach love to being attractive or successful and that's a miserable way to define a relationship. Look around you, how many people are really experiencing genuine true love?

(silence in the room)

Jokes aside, the world is definitely a scary place to face it alone, and it is awful to think that some people will drastically live their entire lives without true love. Others will get a taste of it and eventually have their hearts broken. A very small percentage will have the opportunity to find their soul mates, kindred spirits or whatever you wanna call it. I know, sounds unfair, but that's how things are.

We are in 2020 close to 8 billion people glued to their phones swiping, texting, exchanging likes, posting, showing off, trying to get attention at any cost; we do have the tools to put all the pieces of the puzzle together, so why is it so hard to find the Mr. Right?

The main reason is because nowadays we are all connected, but emotionally - off line. Many of us still believe in this fairy tale that one day someone will show up changing our lives and we'll be happy forever. It is easier to think that way instead of moving our asses and making ordinary kisses become extraordinary stories. We want that Cirque du Soleil sex, full of impressive positions. We want flowers everyday. We want to keep our freedom while also having someone available when we fall apart. We want everything we can't be. Not even Saint Valentine could make this happen. 

On the other hand, there are those who jump from one relationship to another because they fear loneliness or there is a convenient way to make life ea$ier. People who believe that their comfort zone will bring some peace eventually face a backfired love, a fake relationship that put them in a restaurant full of people right on Valentine's Day, when in fact they are empty inside, full of unhappiness: stuck in an okay relationship, imprisoned in an okay life because okay is a "safe place".

Love takes courage, sacrifice. Love should be obvious (look at someone's eyes when they are talking, never fails); we can be ourselves (from our sweet to our dark sides). Love is when we see someone approaching in the arrivals hall at the airport: "He is back". Love is when we scroll through some pictures on our phones from that unforgettable trip and if we could write a caption it would be: "How happy I am next to you". If you have one of those feelings go ahead, love, make love... and love!

Written by: Bruno de Abreu Rangel
 brunorangelbrazil@gmail.com

Edited by: Daniel Franken
  franken.daniel@gmail.com