Simon Says, Say I Love You

"And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love." What really is love? Is it simply a phrase we use when departing from someone that is close to us? It shouldn't be. But it seems that is the only time we really let people know we love them. Ever hear someone say the inspirational line, "maybe your looking but not really seeing" or "maybe you're not really seeing what you're looking at"? This can be applied to love in a way. Love is about really seeing what you are looking at, not just looking and moving on. For example, anyone could memorize all your favorites and know all these little facts about you...or just be looking. But if someone were to really see, they would know when you are sad without even asking or know what cheers you up. Love is taking the time to slow down and know or find out the different ways people work and think. Everyone has a few people that are really close to them. Those people who are close to you become close to you because they took the time to slow down and say, "hey, you know what I love being with you. I want to see what else I love about you."

When I was in tenth grade, I was apart of a theatrical production called "Our Town" by Thornton Wilder. It is simply about life in three acts. The first act is about daily life, the second about love and marriage and the third about death. This play uses no props and only some essential set pieces such as tables and chairs. Wilder did this so the audience would not be distracted by anything flashy or showy but would solely focus on the actors. In the third act, the lead female of the play, that had gone through high school and had gone on to marry the lead male, died while giving birth. In this act she is allowed to go back to the living and relive one day. She decides to relive her twelfth birthday. However she is able to observe the happenings of that day while knowing what has happened to her in her life. Instead of being happy to see her mother and father again, she ends in a despair filled monologue. In this she speaks of how it is sad that no one slows down to see what we have in life. This female, Emily, makes inspirational statements once she realizes her mother really does not show love the Emily wanted her to. "Oh Mama, just look at me for one second as though you really saw me. Mama! Fourteen years have gone by - I married George Gibbs - Wally's dead too! But just for a moment now we're all together - Mama just for a moment let's be happy." Of course her mother cannot hear her say this for Emily is dead and only reliving this day over. Emily goes on to say, "It goes so fast. We don't have time to look at one another." She then asks this deep question, "Do any humans ever realize life while they live it - every, every minute?" The truth is that no, we do not.

While "Our Town" is a very inspirational play, I cannot help but apply that to my life. Or any human beings life for that matter. We do not slow down in life. It's all about really telling people how we feel, not waiting and maybe letting people pick up on how we feel. Because we never really know if we will ever have the chance to tell them. To me, it's like if someone asked me why I loved them and I just said, "Oh just because I do." What kind of answer is that!? It is like telling them, "Well, really, I wasn't planning on loving you, it was kind of an accident." But when you can answer them by saying something like, "I love how every time we see each other your face just lights up and a huge smile shows up on your face. And that makes me smile and feel loved. That's one of many reasons why I love you" that's a real answer. When you can really tell someone why you love them, that is a friendship or a relationship. It is not always about loving someone because they are funny, smart, nice, and make you laugh. Some times it is about the moments that make you say to yourself "wow I love him/her". Or about what they do to show their personality and make you say, "do that again!" because it makes you laugh so much. When you can slow down and say "it makes me smile every time I think about the way you smack yourself on the forehead and groan every time I make you feel like a good" that is really loving someone.

Really, do not just expect people to know you love them, actually tell them, let them know. It is far more then just I love being with you. It is about saying you love being with them and then saying now I want to know what makes you tick. Take the time to slow down. Take the time to really see what you are looking at. Do not pass up opportunities to love. Go ahead, tell them you love them and tell them why. Because the greatest thing in the entire world is love.

"...the greatest of these is love..."