September has a special way of reminding us who we love. In Colombia, the third Saturday of the month brings Love and Friendship Day (Amor y Amistad): a date to share with your partner, your friends and the people who, one way or another, are part of your life.
But while plans, gifts, messages and celebrations pop up all around, not all of us are living our days in the same way.
Maybe this year you are going through a breakup. Maybe you miss someone, you are going through a change, you have had difficult months or you simply don’t feel much like celebrating. It may also be that someone important to you is going through something like this.
And then a different question comes up: what do you give when not everything is okay?
You don’t need to give joy when what someone needs is company
When we love someone who is going through a hard time, we often feel the need to make them feel better. We look for the right words, suggest plans, try to distract them or choose a gift we hope will bring back their smile.
But loving someone also means understanding that we can’t always change what they are going through.
A gift doesn’t have to solve a problem, erase a sadness or make someone feel good right away. Sometimes it can have a much simpler meaning: letting that person know we are thinking of them.
That’s why, when a date like Love and Friendship Day comes around, it may be worth changing the question. Instead of thinking only about what they might like, we can ask ourselves what gesture could convey what we want to tell them: “I’m here, I love you.”
Giving from the moment the other person is living
There is no gift that works the same for everyone. Even less so when we are going through different moments.
For someone who is tired, a gesture that invites them to pause may make sense. For someone who has just been through a change, it might be special to receive something that reminds them they are not alone. For a friend who has been there during a complicated year, a letter or a small gift can say much more than an expensive present.
The key is less about finding “the perfect gift” and more about thinking of the person who is going to receive it.
What do they enjoy? What makes them feel accompanied? What space do they need right now? What would you like to remind them of?
Sometimes, that attention is exactly what turns an object into a true gesture of care.
Love and Friendship Day can also be an invitation to take care of yourself
This date usually makes us think about the love we give others, but there is another relationship that also deserves space: the one we have with ourselves.
Because this Love and Friendship Day may not come with a partner. You may be in a stage where you prefer to be with yourself, rebuilding routines, learning to enjoy your own company or simply trying to get through a moment you didn’t expect.
And you can also give yourself something.
Not as a way to fill a void or pretend everything is fine, but as a small reminder that your wellbeing deserves attention too.
A pause. A quiet space. Something you enjoy. A gift chosen especially for you.
We don’t always need a special occasion to do it, but Love and Friendship Day can be a good excuse to remember that affection also starts with the way we treat ourselves.
A gift to talk about love in a different way
Some gifts aim to surprise. Others aim to celebrate. And some simply aim to accompany.
Ritual del Amor by Siu Esencias starts precisely from a simple idea: making love a space we can also direct toward ourselves and toward the bonds we build with others.
That’s why it can be an option to give on Love and Friendship Day when you want to step away from traditional gifts and choose something with a more personal meaning.
It can be for your partner, a friend, someone in your family or for you.
Because love doesn’t have just one shape, nor does it need to come with a perfect celebration.
Sometimes, giving is simply saying: I’m here
We can’t know exactly what the person we love is going through. Nor do we have to find the words that will solve it, but we can be there.
We can listen without trying to fix everything. Respect their timing. Share a coffee. Write a message. Give a hug. Or choose a gift that says, in a simple way, that we are thinking of them.
Perhaps that is one of the most beautiful meanings of Love and Friendship Day: not celebrating only when everything is fine, but reminding the people we love that they are still important to us even when they are going through difficult days.
And sometimes, that small gesture can be far more valuable than any perfect gift.
When giving can also be a way of caring, find in Ritual del Amor a gift to express what is sometimes hard to say.
