A thousand and one ways to love in adversity

Havana, Feb 14 - They do not ask for permission to exist, let alone to flourish. They choose, as they please, the sun or the shade, and not even the weight of raindrops or the persistent wind can wither them. They may hurt their petals, but they cannot be uprooted. Wildflowers grow, even amidst weeds or between stones. And, without losing their fragrance, they sprout anew even in adversity.

Undoubtedly, this is also the essence of love, the feeling that, as those who have lived the most say, is capable of making the universe spin. How can something ethereal move the world? Because of what it drives us to do, the relentless effort to heal and repair, to support and walk intertwined, to leave offshoots that later multiply the joy of life and sincere devotion.

Valentine's Day has arrived, a date always awaited, to which perhaps this time some may look with skepticism or coldness. How can love overcome adversity? It can because it reinvents itself, because it carries within it the innate resilience of happiness and hope, and even if it changes in shades and colors, its essence remains the same.

In times when there are those who fertilize the seed of despair, let us insist on planting love. We must not forget the reasons for smiles, the reasons to take the hands of those we have chosen, because there are bonds that save. Let us preserve love at all costs, shorten distances between souls, seal differences, and heal old wounds.

If the "every man for himself" mentality seeks to take root or foreign winds blow, let us insist that the mark of love is our footprint in the world. Let us ask today that love has not just one day, but a daily complicity, and that February 14 serves as a reminder that there are a thousand and one ways to love, to rise above hatred, war, and distance. Let the part of us that refuses to give up prevail, for continuing to love in times of storms is like flourishing against all odds. (Text and photo: Granma Digital)