Wholeness Healing Center

Saying I Love You Without Words

We have just come off a season of giving, of sharing, and of expressing our love with gifts. And we fast approach the day of love, another day where we are expected to buy the present that most expresses our love on Valentine’s Day. What if we are tired of throwing money away on trinkets? What if we need to find another way to express our feelings? How can we say “I Love You” without words?

For many who are financially strapped, suggestions abound about giving time and energy to a loved one. But why does it only apply if we don’t have the funds? Why shouldn’t it be just as, if not more, acceptable to give of our time and energy even if we have the funds? In our fast-paced world, it is really too easy to slip a $20 bill in an envelope and send it off. Wouldn’t it show more of an investment of time and love if we offered our services to show our affection? Wouldn’t a day spent taking your mom to the park and out to lunch be better than that gift certificate? Wouldn’t washing dad’s truck be just as meaningful as another tie? Wouldn’t cooking a loved one’s favorite meal and spending the evening in candlelight at home be just as special as a bouquet of flowers that quickly wilt?

Our society is already too materialistic, and our children grow up with a sense of entitlement, always asking for more, more, more. If we as adults set the example of giving unselfishly of our time, and then we prompt our children to begin giving a gift that adults set the example of giving unselfishly of our time, and then we prompt our children to begin giving a gift that is more personal, more individually invested, aren’t we then instilling in them a greater caring for mankind?

As we look after the holiday onslaught, can we re-gift some of our things, especially those we really won’t use and don’t need? Can we donate to Goodwill or the Salvation Army? Can we clean out our pantry and box up cans for the food pantry? By taking our children with us to do such things, we role model giving. By gifting others with our time and energy, we role model caring in a deeper way. And we then say “I love you” without words.

Look around and try to think of other gifts you (we) can give that express our feelings without using money, but instead, give of ourselves.

 

 

 

Tags: giving time and energy instead of things, saying "I love you" without things, the gift of time