Harness and spread self-love to others

By: Annie Sragner, Arts & Life Editor

The approach of Valentine’s Day has many people fixated on the concept of love.

This holiday is a double-edged sword in that there is good intent behind the occasion, but there is also stress in figuring out how to spend it.

Single people may want to head for the hills and block out all of the cheesiness, while those in relationships may fret about how they can impress their significant other. However you plan to spend the holiday be sure to take some time to reflect on the love you’ve gathered in your own life.

Many think that finding the right person will bring about true love, but love actually originates from within oneself.

I realized this the first time I visited the happiest place on earth: Bonnaroo.This music and arts festival in Tennessee encourages all those who attend to live by the motto, “Radiate Positivity.”

The aim is to inspire people to harness their internal self-love and send it out to others through positivity.

I was amazed when I saw what this translated into in real life: complete strangers would strike up conversations with each other, creating an atmosphere saturated with beautiful love-thy-neighbor vibes.

This feeling of unity among the masses was built directly upon the emanating self-love, which collected in a venue that invited everyone to have a good time.

I left the festival feeling inspired yet perplexed as to why this mindset isn’t more commonplace. Remembering to love both others and ourselves doesn’t need to come from a music festival or a sugary holiday.

Ideally, our community should want to act out of love and make this world better for everyone we interact with.

But our everyday circumstances are tricky. The bonds of love and positivity are often accompanied by their evil counterparts hate and negativity. Think about love as light and hate as dark.

Light is the only eradicator of darkness, just like how love is the only eradicator of hate. Positivity is contagious and it concentrates in areas of high dispersion.

On this holiday devoted to love, don’t get caught up in the surrounding consumerism and expectations. People often think of love as one large and extravagant thing, but it more commonly exists in many of the smaller aspects of life – so much so that it often goes unnoticed.

Give yourself some love on this Valentine’s Day, and see if it spreads to the people around you.

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