On an annual basis there is certainly a surge in romantic interest as February, the Month of Hearts, approaches, and the fragrance of Valentine’s Day commences to waft within the air. When it comes to reality, however, how much of that surge is truly about romance? Is it all a commercial activity intended to rake in the profits?

I don’t believe anyone can argue that commercial interests contribute significantly towards the publicity that surrounds Valentine’s Day. You see it everywhere from Christmas onwards; the Valentine’s greeting cards, the Valentine’s chocolates with their heart designed boxes and photos of roses, plus of course the many advertisements for the roses themselves and how you have to book early for that Valentine night time dinner.

The business aspect of Valentine’s might appear so overwhelming you might be persuaded to consider that it is nothing at all to do with love and romance at all, but simply about making money; that the hearts and the roses are nothing more than artificial symbols of a romantic world that no longer exists.

With much of Traditional western society having a hardened veneer, where underneath relationships fall apart with a gentle wind, and divorce proceedings being built into marriage, anyone might be forgiven for taking this kind of a cynical perspective. Nevertheless, dismissing the entire Valentine Day experience as nothing but commercial is much too simplistic, and to do so is to deny oneself a much richer experience: that of genuine ambiance and love.

Any commercial endeavor only succeeds if there is a demand, and Valentine’s Day continues to be a business success for quite some time. Before the success, the Valentine’s tradition itself had evolved over many hundreds of years, long before commerce became the apparent driving force behind it. So where has the contemporary demand come from for an event such as Valentine’s Day?

Love, attraction, obsession, and romance are as old as the hills, and are integral to the human constitution. While many modern day individuals may declare that they choose to be alone and do not require other people, do not need love and romance in their life, they are not being truly honest with themselves and most likely feel something very different. It is not “macho” to publicly need love, affection and romance, so many hide from his or her own truth, that they probably yearn for that love of another as much as the most openly romantic.

Others, though, reflect as much desire for romantic love as any man or woman over the centuries, and it is deeply natural to do so. They reveal those desires as they go searching for romantic fiction, love poetry and real love testimonies by the million. Considering they do have love in their lives as Valentine’s Day comes around, then they are well equipped to make the most of it; to indulge in the romantic image with their own twist of truth and need.

Love and ambiance have not died and will by no means die. A few may shy away in fear of the discomfort of a failed or a tragic romance; but others dive in head first, not fearful that their love will turn out to be as destructive as Romeo and Juliet. Those people provide the never ending need for a Valentine’s Day that transcends the financial and explores all of the bright and dark corridors of romance. Put simply, experience life to the fullest, and chance the pain and heartache to achieve the ecstasy.

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