Every April 13th is celebrated International Kiss Day in different parts of the world. Its commemoration is due to the tribute of the Thai couple who, in 2013, participated in the longest kiss in history, lasting more than two days and which made its record in the Guinness World Records.
It is a date without cultural or commercial relevance like Valentine’s Day, but—like International Hug Day—it is one more reason to reflect on the importance of displays of affection in our days. The world needs more kisses, more gestures that emanate from appreciation and love; and not lack of respect, gender violence and sexist wars between us. Ways of acting that, unfortunately, are so deeply rooted in our present that we have already become accustomed to them.
Today the world of art seems distant and surreal where brushes capture the best kisses in works such as “The Kiss” by Gustav Klimt or “The Lovers” by René Magritte. We have reached a point where romantic love and passionate kisses have become outdated, exclusive behind canvases or movie screens and abandoned to fiction. It seems that the expression of feelings genuine and meticulous details have been relegated to poets, painters and artists.
Our culture taught us as children that a kiss from true love can resurrect sleeping beauties, that there are kisses that transform frogs into princes and that every happy ending is buried with a kiss on the lips. But later we land in real life and it has nothing to do with childhood stories. We live in a stage complicated where the news instills in us the rationalized hatred of men for women and vice versa; And because of that we tend to repress emotions to protect ourselves. But it is worth remembering that we are emotional beings that need the contact, relationship, proximity and affection of other people to survive.
This day of the kiss invites us to value this universe of senses much more and remember that kisses transform the inner being. There are ephemeral kisses, and also eternal ones; some wake you up, others make you rest peacefully; There are shy ones, but also passionate ones; without forgetting those that are furtive or stolen. Each kiss is unique and remains eternal in our memory. The world needs of our inspiration, that we express our emotions without fear, as does the artists’ guild. Because just like this one, we feel, we love and we wish for a happy future where people kiss and love without fear.
