Column: Freiheit für die Liebe

The 14th of February is also known as a day of love. And it sure is for me. It’s on this date that I released ilvy.com and a couple of years later I released my book (in Dutch, The Relationship Check-Up) on this specific date. It certainly wasn’t a coincidence that both of them were released on the day of love. To me, the 14th of February is about so much more than secret love or young love. It is about all forms of love, it’s about people, it’s about you. And that might not be how Cupid meant it in the traditional story, but that can become the updated meaning in a more contemporary story.

Beate Uhse’s catchphrase fits in perfectly in this story: Freiheit für die Liebe, freedom for love. Freiheit für die Liebe, because love doesn’t discriminate. How does that sound for a new slogan?

It’s actually pretty sad to hear how many people are lonely on the 14th of February. People without a partner, couples who have lost their love, people who know love in a form that cannot or isn’t allowed to exist. To take away the burden of all those people – and there are many of them – I strongly plead for a day of love in its broadest sense. Love for your friends, love for your children, love for your pets, love for your colleagues, love for your brothers and sisters, your parents, and most of all: love for yourself. Without love for yourself, you can’t feel true and flourishing love for another person, let alone be able to receive the love of someone else.
The love you have for yourself basically forms the center of all other forms of love. And that isn’t selfish, but it’s just needed to experience love in your life.

Wouldn’t it be amazing if we would be able to celebrate a day of love for everyone? Young, old, alone and together. Love doesn’t discriminate, so why should we on the 14th of February?

Pabo is the legacy of Beate Uhse, so I think it is up to us to start a new movement. Be kind to everyone who is precious to you and show them a sign of appreciation. Be kind to yourself and show yourself some mercy. Do something that makes you happy, preferably every day, but especially on this day of love. The 14th of February shouldn’t be about loneliness, or the discussion whether or not Valentine’s Day is a commercial hassle. It should be about love. About Freiheit für die Liebe.

Also read: Touch deprivation: why we need physical touch