As we approach Valentine’s Day, what are your plans to celebrate this day of love?

Is it a time of the year you enjoy or dread?

A year ago I wrote a giant post to help you celebrate Valentine’s Day, and I brought you some of the best blog posts from around the blogosphere.

Check out my collection of the ultimate 40 posts for Valentine’s Day and indeed every day.

Valentine’s Day is a fun and loving day for many people and there are so many wonderful bloggers out there sharing their wisdom about love and relationship.

Today I want to bring you more of the collective wisdom of my blogger friends.

This is Day 13 of our “28 day Relationships Adventure” in February.

You can read all 28 articles which are listed at the bottom of this post.

I am proud to know a lot of prominent bloggers as friends and it is a privilege for me to share their work with you.

I asked them 2 simple questions:-

1. What’s your ideal Valentine Day or Valentine date?

2. In one sentence, how can people bring more love into their lives everyday?

I have collated their answers below – and I know you will enjoy reading through their thoughts and ideas for Valentine’s Day.

All these bloggers are committed to making a difference and I invite you to explore their work and also subscribe to their blogs.

Here are their thoughts on how to create the perfect Valentine Day and how to bring more love into the world:-

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Alex Blackwell – The BridgeMaker

“My wife Mary Beth and I celebrated with a Valentine dinner a few days ago. Getting a reservation on Valentine’s Day was impossible, but with 26 Valentine’s Days behind us, we were just fine celebrating as we did.

While it’s not practical to think everyday can be like Valentine’s Day, enjoy the magic of the day anyway. And if the heart of each lover is hungry to give, the day will be a feast!

On this Valentine’s Day, delight in opening the cards, receiving the flowers and experiencing a dinner just for two. Lose yourself in your partner and enjoy each touch, smell and taste.

Allow love to fill your heart all the way to the top. But before falling asleep, take one last moment and think about everything love can do on the other days, too.”

“It’s just as well no one has the perfect marriage or relationship because if you did, you might stop working on it. So nurture it every day and you will be able to see what love can do anytime you take the time to look.”

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Andrea DeBell – Britetalk

“I love Valentine’s Day so I splurge on this day; not in terms of money but in terms of love, attention, and time spent together.  My husband and I take the day off and we spend the whole day together taking turns picking activities that we’d like to do. He may choose a hike, then I choose a picnic, and so on. It usually ends with us watching a romantic comedy with popcorn. Even though it’s not the only day we set a side to celebrate our love, it’s great to have an assigned day for love.”

“It’s important to open our hearts and notice that there is so much love around us already such as in nature, small gestures, simple words, a smile, a touch, and in our thoughts; love is literally everywhere.”

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Angela Artemis – Powered by Intuition

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Belinda Munoz – The Halfway Point

“On a personal scale, my ideal Valentine’s Day is very simple. It is one spent enjoying the company of my family, appreciating the good lives that we have, and teaching my four year old son about love.

Through dialogue and example,  I hope to show him that love starts from within and can be shared not just with family and friends but also with strangers by showing them kindness and compassion.

On a larger scale, I would love to see Valentine’s Day become less about the one day of fine-dining and expensive gifts or the limited notion of romance between two people but rather a day that symbolizes how we all need love and can lift each other up by being inclusive about giving and receiving love.”

“You can bring more love into your life by loving oneself as well as others through acts of kindness, compassion, generosity, forgiveness and acceptance.”

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Eduard Ezeanu – People Skills Decoded

“I’m your typical (or maybe not) bachelor, I am usually not in a relationship when Valentine Day arrives. For me it’s just an excuse to party. Like tonight, when I’m going to this craaazy pre-valentine salsa party!”

“You can bring more love into the world by being happy. When I’m happy end enjoying myself, I create opportunities for other to have fun as well. Happiness is more contagious than chicken pox :)”

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Gail Brenner – A Flourishing Life

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John Sherry – Real Simple People

“For a special Valentine’s Day, I would make some special time just to be together. Couples start out in life together but can be pulled this way and that and be drawn apart and lose that loving connection.

Valentine’s Day is day to re-connect to tenderness, love, and your relationship. At such times nothing else matters than committing time and space to the person you committed your love and life to.

To hold their hand again, be next to them, and to show that your love has grown stronger as you have grown older, and that no matter what uncertainties life can bring your love is the one certainty they can always rely on. Make room in your heart by always making time in your life for each other.”

“People can bring more love into their lives by witnessing more often in the world – couples holding hands and kissing, children playing and hugging, birds singing, the sun shining, and life anew every day. That’s love everywhere.”

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Linda Hewett – Positive Spin – Live Life on the Upside

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Philip Bolton – Less Ordinary Living

“Valentine’s Day is about spending special time with someone you love. I love to go to the cinema or a concert with my wife, or cook a simple supper at home. It’s about the quality and connection, not ostentation. A chance to connect and reaffirm your love.”

“To bring more love into the world, treat everyone the way you’d like to be treated. When you feel compassion, act on it.”

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Satya Colombo

“I believe that love expressed through art in all its various forms has the power to transform society. In fact, it may be our only hope. On the other hand, I despise the idea of blindly following customs and traditions “just because” they exist.

My ideal Valentine’s Day would be more or less the same as any other ideal day: One in which I am filled with wonder and enjoyment at the ineffably vast glory and essence of this existence…”

“People can bring more love into the world by raising up their energy and calibrating it to the luminous frequency of love and light.”

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Steven Aitchison – Change your Thoughts

“I think if we only remember our partners one day out of the year, we are doing something very wrong!

We tell each other every day, in our own way, how much we love each other, whether it’s a text to each other just to say I am thinking about you, a kiss before going into the spoon position to sleep, having a date with each other throughout the year, spending time with the family, a look, a glance, a smile.”

“To bring more love into your life everyday, remind yourself, and your partner, every day why you fell in love with them.”

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Stacey Curnow – Midwife for your Life

“My ideal Valentine’s Day would involve (at least 15 minutes of) sex!”

“As a mama who has a very full life with a very full to-do list every day, I know I wouldn’t have sex if I didn’t schedule it. The days of making love all night are o-v-e-r. My son is a night owl and it’s rare that I have enough energy after he goes to sleep to get it on spontaneously. But I believe in the many benefits of sex and I commit to it just like anything else that’s important to me, especially on a day that is all about LOVE.”

“A guideline that I feel is indispensible in any relationship, I learned from one of my favourite authors, Eckhart Tolle. In his fabulous and (for me) life-changing book, A New Earth, he writes –  “Whatever you think people are withholding from you – praise, appreciation, assistance, loving care, and so on – give it to them.”

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Tammy Strobel – Rowdy Kittens

“Showing love and affection isn’t about buying stuff. It’s about spending quality time with your partner.

For example, on Valentines Day my husband and I don’t buy each other anything. Instead, we’ll make a homemade dinner together, go for a long walk or bike ride. We give each other the gifts of time and attention.”

“Bring more love into your life by being present and listening to your partner.”

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Zeenat Merchant-Syal – Positive Provocations

“My ideal Valentines day begins with a short meditation, where I send loving blessings to all the hearts of the world.

And then I spend the rest of the day with friends and family loving, caring, listening and making each and every soul I come across feel extra special. But you know that is my day everyday!

I guess that means everyday is Valentines or a day of love for me.”

“I personally don’t believe in giving and receiving material gifts on any occasion – I prefer the lasting, meaningful gifts.

An ideal gift to be given everyday is the gift of pure love, genuine caring and focused attention to each person that comes our way.”

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There you are – hearty contributions from bloggers around the world to add that extra zest of love and fun to your Valentine’s Day and indeed any day.

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone, today and everyday.

And a happy life:-)

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Daily Exercise for Today

If you are in a relationship, then go through the ideas above and see how you can create the “best possible Valentine’s Day for your loved one.

If you are single, then apart from pampering yourself like crazy, reflect on the sort of memorable Valentine’s Day you will create for your future love.

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Top image courtesy of divemasterking2000