Happy Valentine’s! 💌

This Valentines, I want to re-define (or re-condition 😉) what it means to be desirable for kids, teens, and adults. Here is a random poem?

For Women: Every woman’s deepest desire is to be pursued, to be desired by others. A big part of that is our beauty, however beauty is both internal and external.

Beauty means kindness.
Beauty means forgiveness.
Beauty means respectfulness.

Beauty means confidence (I love who I am).
Beauty means optimism.
Beauty means giving to others.

Beauty means a smile.
Beauty means organic.
Beauty means imperfection.

This is beauty.

For men: What does it mean to actually be strong, brave, a leader –a hero?

Strength means patience.
Strength means endurance.
Strength means community.
Strength means self-discipline.

Bravery means vulnerability.
Bravery means faith.
Bravery means hope.
Bravery means love.

Leadership means listening.
Leadership means humbleness.
Leadership means self-sacrifice.
Leadership means seek justice.

This is what it means to be a ‘man’.

—————
For Women:
There is an excerpt I wanted to share from Sarah Kay (a poet). I love her poems! Here is something insightful that I think we forget to remind ourselves as girls.

“Everyone signs their letter with a pen name, anonymously, and so this person signed their letter, “Sincerely Wrong Girl”. And I really wanted to tell her to know that I didn’t think she was the ‘wrong girl’. It was that she’s the right girl, but with the wrong guy. And I said actually more specifically, ‘You’re the right girl who has fallen for the age-old trick of falling for the fantasy guy, but winding up with the actual guy who, as it turns out, you might not actually like that much’.”

For more, you can read here:
https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2019/02/14/sarah-kay-valentines-day-poetry

For Men:
Justin Baldoni helps run a facebook platform ( “We Are Man Enough” ) that address various topics on re-defining masculinity and what it means to be a man. Here is an excerpt from him:

“I challenge you to use the same qualities that you feel make you a man to go deeper. Your strength, your bravery, your toughness: Can we re-define what those mean? Are you brave enough to be vulnerable? To reach out to another man when you need help? And dive head first into your shame. Are you strong enough to be sensitive? To cry whether you are hurting or happy even if it makes you look weak? Are you confident enough to listen to the women in your life? To hear their idea’s and solutions, to hold their anguish and actually believe them, even if what they are saying is against you? Are you man enough to stand up to other men when you hear locker room talk and stories of sexual harrassment? Will you stand up and do something so that one day we don’t have to live in a world where a woman has to risk everything and come forward to say the words “me too”. Am I man enough to shut the **** up and listen?”

To watch the full video, click below:
https://youtu.be/Cetg4gu0oQQ

#valentinesday #valentinesformen #valentinesforwomen #love