Don’t look at me in that tone of voice. I’m a guy, and I don’t always express my feelings well. So, this week, my one small thing is to focus on telling my wife “I love you” at least once a day. I know how important it is to give words of affirmation, but most times I fail to do so.
Previous “One Small Thing” committments:
Praying everyday: Going well. Haven’t missed a day. Still not a habit, but I’m working on it. Thinking of upping the time to 15 minutes.
Oh you are a breathe of fresh air! My hubby is awesome. He makes it a point to tell me continuously why he loves me. That helps keep our love growing! I write tips to living at Love My Journey at sherrieh.wordpress.com. Shift your thinking and shift your life! Reframe your angel blessings!
Words of affirmation can be very important. I always think about how good they make me feel, either from my wife or from other people around me. It may not be “I love you”, but maybe just “great job”…either way, those words of affirmation make you feel ‘loved’.
As I reflect on language/words and their meaning, it is interesting how they can often change over time, sometimes for the better/worse, sometimes the words are just different. In the context of ‘words of affirmation’, I am thinking of the word “Intercourse”, which when used in modern day times, means one thing: sex. In times past, like the writing of Alexander Hamilton, Lincoln, and Franklin, they often used the term “intercourse” to describe meaningful interaction with other people, not particularly the physical act between two consenting adults. I find this interesting, because maybe our society has changed, and the meaning of this word has changed with it. Are we too focused on the ‘physical’ and not enough on the ‘emotional’ or ‘spiritual’? Should we be having more ‘spiritual’ intercourse (in the ancient meaning) with more people? Are we spiritually/emotionally colder than our forefathers?
I have read two biographys lately, one of Lincoln and the other of Hamilton, and it’s interesting how they interacted with people, and how different their interaction was in comparison to modern Americans. Their level of affection appears to be greater for fellow man/friends than we share today, as reflected by their letters and writing. The author of Team of Rivals reflects on Lincolns words/actions towards friends in attempting to address modern critics (was he gay?), and instead turns the coin to the other side: why are we so focused on physical acts of affection (so focused on sex, etc)? The reality of Lincoln’s time is quite the opposite of how it may appear in writing: men slept together because the notion of young men affording a separate apartment let alone their own bed was outside of their economic reality, and people in general appeared to use the word “love” more freely in a more genuine manner without any silly notions attached to it.
Are we missing out on something? Is the lack of affirmation or the lack of ease in communicating affirmation a symptom of something bigger? Do we take each other for granted (including wife, friends, family and co-workers)?
Brian