It’s Valentine’s Day and we thought we’d celebrate it by appreciating the beauty that’s around us. Men are sometimes forgotten and sometimes unappreciated when Valentine’s Day rolls around. They’re also not usually what comes to mind when we think of the word “beautiful”, but they’re beautiful in many ways. We thought we’d love on them especially well today.

It’s hard being anyone in today’s world and sometimes it’s hard being a man. Society can have so many expectations of men and so many roles for them to fill. It can overwhelm them. It can be hard for them to be the men they want to be and the men they should be. It can be hard for their beauty and wonder as men to be apparent in the face of everything they face. Men are works in progress, but aren’t we all? There’s sometimes a lack of polish to men, a rawness about them that can be less than endearing. But that raw material is still valuable, even if raw.

What’s so special about men? Everything in fact. You don’t think so? It’s true. Everyone’s different and part of the beauty of the world is in our idiosyncrasies. Our differences give colour to the world and to the things we do. It’s the same with men and women. They are different from each other, and their differences make them unique. Their uniqueness makes them special.

In what can we find what makes men special? It’s in their masculinity. In their hard edges and soft underbellies. In their desire for control and power. In their protectiveness over what’s theirs and in their thirst to add to it. In their bravado. In their risk-taking and aversion to danger.

It’s in the way men carry themselves. In the way they walk and the way they talk. Sure, strutting your stuff in high heels is cool, but so is a confident swagger in a pair of Oxford’s. It’s in what they say and how they say it. His huskiness seduces and his gruffness commands. A soft voice soothes and consoles, a hard edge to the voice warns and imposes authority.

It’s in men’s minds. In the unique way they see the world. In the way they care for the little things, for the unnoticed and the forgotten. In the possibility they see in people and things. In the hope they have for the future. In the depth of their understanding of things, in how they see the souls of people and the essence of things around them.

It’s in men’s physical beauty. In shapes and forms perfect in variation. In bone structure sculpted by the gods. In muscles great and small. In broad shoulders and backs. In chiselled jaws and full heads of hair. In million-dollar smiles and radiant eyes.

It’s in men’s character, in their personality. In their dogged determination to get things done. In their fiery tempers and subdued sobs. In them claiming and taking responsibility for themselves and others. In the passionate pursuit of their dreams and goals. In their commitments to the people and things they love. In their unselfish and unbridled love.

It’s in men’s strength. In their strength to bring up children. In their strength to support. In their strength to persevere and endure. In their strength to overcome the odds. In their strength to lead, even when they don’t know how to. In their sacrifices, sometimes even of self.

We love how different men are. We love how unique they are. We love them for who they are and what they are. We love them for the beauty they add to the world, it would be a dull place without them. We love them for driving women crazy and sometimes for putting up with them.

Men, here’s to you. Everything about you is beautiful. May you see it and believe it. We love you.