There is a love story older than time itself. It is a story of hands bound together, hearts entwined not by fate but by a choice—one made not just once but over and over again.
In the ancient Celtic tradition of handfasting, love was never assumed to be permanent. Instead of standing at an altar and binding themselves forever without question, couples entered into a "year and a day" commitment. Their hands were tied together with a ribbon or cord, symbolizing their bond, but the promise was not final.
After one year and one day, they had a choice. They could stand before their community and say, I choose you again, or they could let go—without guilt, without shame—if their love no longer served them.
It was a love that demanded awareness. A love that was not possessed but nurtured. A love that was not guaranteed but earned—one day at a time.
Love is Not Ours to Keep—Only to Rechoose
How different would our relationships feel if we saw love this way?
What if love was never something we owned—but something we consciously renewed daily?
We often get lost in the illusion that love, once declared, is ours forever. That saying I do once is enough. That time, routine, and history will carry us forward. But love is not a fixed moment in time.
Love is a series of moments.
Love is waking up each morning and deciding, I still choose you.
Love is looking at your partner not as someone who is there but as someone who is still worth falling in love with.
Love is an active decision, not a passive assumption.
And that is where magic lives.
Rechoosing Love: A Valentine’s Day Ritual
This Valentine’s Day, let it be more than flowers and chocolates. Let it be your own handfasting, your own renewal, your own moment to pause and say:
"I see you. I appreciate you. And today, I choose you again."
Take a moment—alone or with your partner—to reflect. Let these questions guide you back to love:
🌿 If you had never met your partner, what would your life be missing?
🌿 When was the last time you looked at them—not as someone familiar, but as the miracle of a human they are?
🌿 Think of a moment when they were completely themselves—unguarded, raw, real. What did you feel in that moment?
🌿 What is one part of their soul that you find breathtakingly beautiful, even if they don’t see it in themselves?
🌿 What is something they do—something small, ordinary—that, if it disappeared, you would deeply miss?
🌿 When did they last make you laugh so hard that you forgot everything else?
🌿 What is one way they have unknowingly healed a part of you?
🌿 What is a lesson they have taught you about love, life, or yourself?
🌿 What is one memory of them that still makes your heart ache with love?
🌿 If today was your “year and a day” moment—your chance to rechoose them—what would you say?
Please write it down. Say it out loud. Let your words tie your hearts together once more.
Love, Chosen Again and Again
The Celts understood something we often forget: love is never truly lost, only unchosen.
So, let your hands come together today—not in assumption but in awareness. Let your heart remember that this person standing beside you is not here by chance. They are here because of the love you build, the moments you treasure, and the commitment you renew.
You are not meant to love each other out of habit.
You are meant to love each other with intention.
With reverence.
With devotion.
And with the beautiful knowledge that the greatest love stories are not written in a single chapter but in the pages of a lifetime—rechosen, again and again.