Listen for LOVE

There are times when we are timid and shy about
expressing the love
we feel. For fear of embarrassing the other person,
or yourselves,
we hesitate to say the actual words "I love you." So
we try to
communicate the idea in other words.


We say 'take care' or 'don't drive too fast' or 'be
good.' But
really, these are just other ways of saying 'I love
you,' 'you are
important to me,' 'I care what happens to you,' 'I
don't want you
to get hurt.'
We are sometimes very strange people. The only thing
we want to
say, and the one thing that we should say, is the
one thing we
don't say.
And yet, because the feeling is so real, and the
need to say it is
so strong, we are driven to use other words and
signs to say what
we really mean.
And many times the meaning never gets communicated
at all and the
other person is left feeling unloved and unwanted.

Therefore, we
have to LISTEN FOR LOVE in the words that people are
saying to us.
Sometimes the explicit words are necessary, but more
often, the
manner of saying things is even more important. A
joyous insult
carries more affection and love within the
sentiments which are
expressed insincerely.
An impulsive hug says I LOVE YOU even though the
words might be
saying very different. Any expression of a person's
concern for
another says I love you.
Sometimes the expression is clumsy, sometimes even
cruel. Sometimes
we must look and listen very intently for the love
that contains.
But it is often there, beneath the surface.
A mother may nag her son constantly about his grades
or cleaning
his room. The son may hear only the nagging, but if
he listens
carefully, he will hear the love underneath the
nagging. His mother
wants him to do well, to be successful. Her concern
and love for
her son unfortunately emerge in her nagging. But it
is love all the
same.

A daughter comes home late, way past her curfew, and
her father
confronts her with angry words. The daughter may
hear only the
anger, but if she listens carefully, she will hear
the love under
the anger. "I was worried about you," the father is
saying.
'Because I care about you and I love you. You are
important to me.'
We say I love you in many ways - with birthday
gifts, and little
notes, with smiles and sometimes with tears.
Sometimes we show our
love by just keeping quiet and not saying a word, at
other times by
speaking out, even brusquely. We show our love
sometimes by
impulsiveness. Many times we have to show our love
by forgiving
someone who has not listened to the love we have
tried to express.
The problem is listening for love is that we don't
always
understand the language of love which the other
person is using. A
girl may use tears or emotions to say what she wants
to say, and
her boyfriend may not understand her because he
expects her to be
talking his language. Thus, we have to force
ourselves to really
listen for love.
The problem with our world is that people rarely
listen to each
other. They hear the words, but they don't listen to
the actions
that accompany the words or the expression on the
face. Or people
listen only for rejection or misunderstanding. They
do not see the
love that is there just beneath the surface, even if
the words are
angry. We have to listen for love in those around us. If we
listen
intently we will discover that we are a lot more
loved than we
realize. Listen for love and we will find that the
world is a very
loving place after all.

LOVE is a happy thing.
It makes us laugh.
It makes us sing.
It makes us sad.
It makes us cry.
It makes us seek the reason why.
It makes us take.
It makes us give.
Above all else it makes us LIVE.
It is not the presence or absence of people that
makes the
difference because a person need not be lonely even
if he is alone.
Sometimes it is good to be alone. But that does not
make us lonely.
It is not a matter of being present WITH someone. It
is a matter of
being present to someone.
So remember... If you love someone, tell him or her.
Remember always to
say what you mean. Never be afraid to express
yourself. Take this
opportunity to tell someone what they mean to you.
Seize the day
and have no regrets. Most importantly, stay close to
your friends
and family, for they have helped make you the person
that you are
today and are what it's all about anyway.
Pass this along to your friends. Let it make a
difference in your
day and theirs. The difference between expressing
love and having
regrets is that the regrets may stay around. If you
want others to
be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be
happy, practice
compassion