On my return from my morning dog walk the other day, I shouted “I love you,” to my wife upstairs. She misheard it as a greeting that I’m home and replied “Hi” back. And, for a moment, I was tempted to repeat myself.
The reason I reconsidered on this occasion is that I realised that as much as it’s lovely to say to and hear those words from another, what is far more important is action.
As the saying goes: actions speak louder than words. Many times, we say things that we don’t necessarily mean at any given moment, but the true expression of one’s feelings is in action, not words.
If I truly wanted to express my emotions, I should DO something loving, not just say the words. Express my feelings in action, which takes far more effort than simply a statement. So, I did.
Of course, it’s not always possible to express our love for another in actions and, anyway, it’s always nice to hear the words from others from time-to-time. But if we truly love someone, maybe doing one, or a few small things to show that would be far more precious than simple our words could portray?
In short, if you love someone, show them. And, in my humble opinion, the ones that hold the most impact are the unexpected ones.
Or as Sam Baldwin said in Sleepless in Seattle: “It was a million tiny little things that, when you added them all up, they meant we were supposed to be together.”