Valentine's Day--More than a "Hallmark Moment"

Saint Valentine's Day--the day for intimate companions to acclaim their love for each other in the form of greeting cards and other gifts.  Hallmark loves the date.  There are cards for Mom's, sons, sisters, lovers, and more.

Saying "I love you" and bringing love present in relationships are both essential to bringing and maintaining love and joy in the relationship.

Families develop very different ways of saying "I love you."  In fact, sometimes the words don't come out very often and they need to.  A friend of mine says "I love you" by being a provider in many senses of the word--not just food and shelter (though that way too), also weather, guiding someone to get where they need to be, making sure that their day goes well.

One of my uncles was not used to getting hugs and hearing "I love you."  Because that was natural to me, I shared it with my uncle to his great surprise.  Shortly after that he began reintroducing that habit into his family as well.

"I love you" doesn't go without saying.  We need to feel it and to say it often--in words as well as in actions.  As we do, our own loving is more present and more accessible to us--and to the people we connect with in our daily lives.