Are you looking forward to Valentine’s Day at work or do you hate this ancient, obscure ritual whose origins are buried in the mists of time? Most of us are incorrigible romantics even though we like to appear calm and in control of our lives. We tend to become undone when that special someone enters a room or brushes past us in the office. If we try to talk to our dream girl/boy, we turn into gibbering idiots. What can you do about this unsettling state of affairs? Oh, of course, here’s St Valentine to the rescue.
Valentine's Cards
As far as I know, the cards received from one’s secret admirer never reveal the author, so what’s the purpose of sending one again? Is it so that the unwitting recipient of one’s affections can employ some magical powers to return the compliment? Perhaps the card itself has the magical ability to turn a disinterested person into a smitten puppy with eyes only for you? Whatever the original intention of the secret practice, it has evolved into the not so secret purpose, to start a relationship in a way that leaves the recipient a way out, if the object of your affections is not interested, and it also protects the sender from outright rejection if there is no response. Hang on, if the card is anonymous how is a response possible? I’m told by a very reliable seven-year-old source that ‘you have to give them a clue silly…’ Okay, out of the mouth of babes comes the solution, a clue.
Who could it be?
Now, what possible clue would work from a relative stranger to another, considering you're just work mates, right? What on earth do they know about you to give them even the tiniest hint? Ehh, perhaps from the girl who brought the files to you last week; the guy you bumped into yesterday; the girl you never talk to or cheekily, the man in your dreams! None of these may work, or if he/she gets it wrong then you could be in real trouble! Imagine your Valentine card starting a romance between two other people. Not exactly what you want, right?
I guess one of the simplest things to do is confide in a reliable, trustworthy person to deliver the card; someone who ‘accidentally’ reveals your identity. Or find a helpful cleaner to put the card on your Valentine’s desk before anyone arrives and when she/he starts looking around the office searching for clues, you give her the broadest smile ever and find the flimsiest excuses to chat to her EVERY hour, to nudge her in the right direction! Exhausting you might say, but true love knows no bounds.
How to make the relationship work
The one rule all smitten would-be lovers must stick to is, to make sure before you start a workplace romance that the person you want to become better acquainted with is available, for your sake as well as for everyone else. You don’t want to have to change jobs over a Valentine Day affair gone wrong! If you’re lucky enough to succeed in starting a relationship at work is it on Valentine’s Day or any other day, remember to keep it professional. No undue show of affection or anything else while at work; keep it for after hours, after all, said and done delayed delight is twice as gratifying!
One more thing, those origins of the pagan fertility ritual re-invented by Christianity into St Valentine’s Day, make for interesting reading albeit a little confusing. The legend goes; a pope in the third century was the re-inventor, for the purpose of converting pagans to Christianity. Here it gets a little foggy. There were three Saint Valentines who were contenders for the title. The most popular choice over time was a martyr, who died for converting to Christianity after falling in love with a Christian girl! Not the best way to convince pagans to convert but beautifully romantic! Now the big question is, would you give up your life for love? Or, to be a little more gentle on this beautiful day, what would you do for love?
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