How to Make Love a Safe Investment
When I visited the supermarket two weeks ago – the aisles were already adorned with pink-frosted cupcakes and floating heart-shaped balloons inscribed with the word “Love.”
Clearly, this pre-holiday product-placement was a teaser designed to get us in the mood, so by Valentine’s Day, we are whipped into a candy and card shopping frenzy.
Although the Groundhog had yet to see his shadow, our most infamous Hallmark holiday was already popping-up and peeking at us with dollar signs in its eyes.
The Cost of Love
I imagined Marketing Department heads huddled together last autumn – scanning projections: “Why wait?” they plotted, “we can afford a little product-loss on February’s front-end to promote a sure-thing, come Valentine’s Day.”
Perhaps I am needlessly painting villainous mustaches on Marketers: By-and-large I’m sure they are lovely people just doing their part to keep Consumerism pumping through America’s veins. To their credit, their long campaign rollouts have unintentionally created a concept that is deliciously healthy: Why not extend this holiday?
So, what about all-year-round love exposure? I’m not proposing exhibitionism but, rather, an unconditional, expectation-less, no-need-to-reciprocate positivity that exists in you, me, and all of us if we take the time to dig around and find it.
Take a moment and ask yourself: What is my cost/benefit analysis for kindness? In doing something nice, do I feel Super-sized?
Make Love Pay
The way to make love last all year long is to decide to extend the holiday. Love, whatever form it takes, yields a good return on investment – and is good for you! (no purchase necessary).
*Join Love’s campaign – Forward this article to those you know:
Kindness deserves to go “viral.”
I’ve put together a short list of additional reading on this subject:
50 Simple Acts of Kindness – Goodhousekeeping
Nice Guys Finish First – The New York Times