Saying I Love You…When is it O.K.?

As often As Possible!!!

By now if you know me at all you already know my answer. So what do you think? It is certainly debatable. There probably is no right or wrong answer and it is a matter of opinion. It is a choice.

We have a choice to make. Do we keep our thoughts, emotions and expressions of love private or do we share it with others. In my case I have made a conscious decision to share mine with the world. Is this O.K.? I don’t know. But it sure feels good! 

When I was growing up my family said “I love you” to each other all the time. In my family it was appropriate to say I Love You when we woke up, when we went to sleep, when we said goodbye, and before we hung up the phone from every conversation. My college roommates noticed that every time I ended a phone conversation with my parents I said “I love you”. They thought it was unusual and said their families never did that.

As I grew up and met other people and families I realized that most other families didn’t express this as often. It wasn’t because they didn’t love each other. Not at all! It was just that it was considered a silent given. It was known. They knew without a doubt how much they were loved and how much they loved their parents and siblings. I am not 100% sure about this but I do hope that was the case.

Some people feel that saying I love you too much or too often takes away something from the deep special meaning. If you say it too often or to too many people it makes it mean less. They believe you reserve this personal message for only special moments and for only immediate family or the closest people in your life.

Still others feel that saying I Love You is just idle talk. They believe that it isn’t words that have power, but the actions of a person that prove that they love you. They believe you don’t have to say these three words nor should you unless you back it up with action. I can’t say I disagree with this notion that you need to follow these words with action, do you?

These days, as I get older and not younger, I realize I don’t know how long my journey here will be. I am just one year shy of the age my father was when we lost him to cancer. There are no guarantees, are there? Yes it is a choice and I am making my conscious decision to Love out Loud. When the emotion bubbles up inside me where I can’t keep it in any longer, I just have to let it out! Look out, I have been bubbling quite a bit these days. Now one of my favorite web acronyms has a new double meaning…LOL!!!

Here is my choice. I choose to agree with Cat Stevens when he says “ Why can’t you say, If you know, then why can’t you say. You’ve got too much deceit, deceit kills the light, light has to shine, I said shine light, shine light. Love, That’s no way to live your life, you allow too much to go by, and that won’t do.

Soooooo, What do you choose? I would love to hear from you!! 

Lyrics to “I Can’t Keep it In” by Cat Stevens. These are words I choose to love and live by:

Oh I can’t keep it in, I can’t keep it in, I’ve gotta let it out.
I’ve got to show the world, world’s got to see, see all the love
love that’s in me.

I said, why walk alone, why worry when it’s
warm over here. You’ve got so much to say, say what you mean,
mean what you’re thinking, and think anything.

Oh why, why must you waste your life away,
you’ve got to live for today, then let it go
Oh, lover, I want to spend this time with you,
there’s nothing I wouldn’t do, If you let me know.

And I can’t keep it in, I can’t hide it and I can’t lock it away.
I’m up for your love, love heats my blood,
blood spins my head, and my head falls in love, oh.
No, I can’t keep it in, I can’t keep it in, I’ve gotta let it out.
I’ve gotta show the world, world’s got to know,
know of the love, love that lies low, so

Why can’t you say, If you know, then why can’t you say.
You’ve got too much deceit, deceit kills the light,
light has to shine, I said shine light, shine light.
Love, That’s no way to live your life,
you allow too much to go by, and that won’t do.
No, lover. I want to have you here by my side
Now don’t you run, don’t you hide, while I’m with you.
‘N I can’t keep it in, I can’t keep it in, I’ve gotta let it out.
I’ve got to show the world, world’s got to see, see all the love
love that’s in me.

I said, why walk alone, why worry when it’s
warm over here. You’ve got so much to say, say what you mean,
mean what you’re thinking, and think anything. Why not?
Now why why why not?

Do what you love, love what you do!

I woke up with this great question floating around in my head the other morning. “What if you could run your business the way you run your love?” The more I gave it thought, the more serious I realized were the consequences. It is actually a very serious question. It started me on the path of playing a game I love to play, the “What if” game. Will you play with me?

I began to think what if I could run my business the way I run my Love? What does that actually mean? What do I love I thought? I love vacations in the Caribbean. When it is the morning that we’re supposed to catch a plane for vacation it doesn’t matter if it is 3am, I barely need the alarm clock and fly out of bed with a great big smile on my face and find myself with tons of energy, don’t you? 

I love my husband and my children with all my heart. I would without a doubt run into a burning building for them! There is nothing I wouldn’t do for my family. What if there was nothing I wouldn’t do for my business too? What would happen?

A great example of approaching work with deep love is being a parent. I have always loved my children but there was work I didn’t relish. Like changing diapers when they were babies or waking up in the middle of the night to feed them. The difference was I loved them with all my heart and never once complained about either of these tasks. I did what I had to do and did this with joy and love in my heart.

What if we could bring this kind of true love and devotion into our daily life? Our Studying if we are students? Our business if we are working? Our homes if we are homemakers?

What if we knew the stakes were very high? What if we knew that how we approached our day affected not only the very people we love but even people we don’t even know?

For Students, these questions are for you:

1. What if you found out that if you worked very hard in school you would without a doubt become the chairman of the Federal Reserve one day managing the financial well being of our country? Would you care more about studying or slack off on your math homework?
2. What if you had a crystal ball which revealed that if you approached your schoolwork with confidence and passion you were destined to become the President of the United States? How hard would you study now?
3. What if that crystal ball told you that if you invested your time properly in school you were destined to discover the cure for cancer? Would you go on Facebook for 2 hours or study harder for that bio test tomorrow?