The freedom to say ‘I love you’

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I am somebody who always uses this phrase as freely as I can. Some say it trivializes the emotion. I say it personalizes it. The meaning of the ‘I love you’ I say to my best friend is different from the ‘I love you’ I say to my mother.

Sometimes the ‘I love you’s we say to the same person may mean a thousand different things. I remember, before I finally moved out of my house last month, the ‘I love you’ my best friend said to me was a little prayer wishing me well and a hope to meet again soon someday.

But then, sometimes we meet these people that we love and adore sooo much, but are drastically afraid to utter this phrase to, only because we fear we will ruin the bond we share. We may show the emotion in a thousand different ways. By pulling their legs as far as we can, by yelling at them for not hydrating enough, by shooting daggers at them periodically or by simply drooling over their presence.

Today I write this to tell you that if you have such people in your life, that you want to say that their presence means the world to you, tell them that you love them – DO IT. Life is way too short to regret not telling the people around us how much they mean to us.

And if you think the phrase will freak them out – here is something you can say to them.

 ‘Hey,

There is something I need to tell you. You don’t have to do anything about this information or reciprocate it. But I want you to know that ‘I love you’, that your presence means the whole wide world to me. This ‘I love you’ is not an expectation, it is more a symbol of my gratitude. It is just me trying to tell you ‘thank you for existing’.

And now that I have told you how much you mean to me, I want to ask your permission to tell you that I love you whenever I feel I want you to know that you are incredibly loved.

If what I said made you awkward or sad or mad, let me apologize right away. I just couldn’t live without telling you that out of all the emotions that are there in this world – unadulterated love is what I feel for you.’

Now that you have something to say, I wish you well my friend. Meanwhile, I will pray life gives you the strength to tell the people you love that you love them - freely and unapologetically.

Comments

  1. UnknownApril 3, 2021 at 8:32 AM

    Wow. Wow. Wow

    ReplyDelete
  2. Suvin VargheseApril 3, 2021 at 9:01 AM

    Great....officially unofficial "I love you " process..

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownApril 3, 2021 at 10:43 AM

    I love you......and even your writings...I still remember often your writing on "assumptions"..I loved that too ,and you have put that in my conscious mind how often we assume for and of others. Keep writing!!!!

    ReplyDelete

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