“Ugh, Valentine’s Day!” you say, “not that time of year with chocolate promises of undying love and sparkling jewel like proclamations of forever us.” Now come on, don’t be such a nay sayer…this time of year does get us thinking, for better or worse, about the love we have in our lives and the love we are seeking. Thinking about love is really the first step to embracing love.

There are countless personal definitions of what love is or should be and surely you have your own specific thoughts on this topic. In terms of Autism and love, there have been several recent articles on the topic, including a very good one recently by Amy Harmon in the New York Times that profiles a young couple and their challenges and joys seeking love. The Daniel Jordan Fiddle Foundation Ignition Grant Program with UJA Federation of New York is focused on helping adults on the spectrum navigate the course of their love lives through support groups, social networking and dating advice. This will be a pioneering program that we will share so that adults living with Autism everywhere can benefit from the support systems that evolve from this program at the JCC in Manhattan in the coming months.

There is no question that all people seek love and need love but why do some more successfully attain love? I think one of the reasons is that they embrace love. Embracing love is opening yourself to love and putting that out there to others. Your own kind gestures and loving attitude towards others is a way of embracing love. Many say that one has to love oneself to attain love—but I am not so sure about that. How confident are most people that they feel worthy of love and why should we put that pressure on ourselves? Embracing love is more about lovingly be a part of the world in the kindest way that feels right to you. And once you embrace love, I believe that love will come back to you.

So this Valentine’s Day, instead of feeling down and out about love, embrace it! No you don’t have to walk around passing out chocolate hearts to people, but a few smiles or an act of kindness towards someone could open a new door of love in your own life.