Love…

This week’s calligraphy group promo was ‘Love”. They didn’t want just romantic love, they asked for something that exemplifies whatever it is we love or are passionate about. I decided to combine the holiday and the things I love into one piece. I used a linoleum block my husband carved to create the hearts in the center. I then added marbleized papers around the edge, making sure it was not a perfect square as nothing we do in love is ever perfect. I then wrote the things I love – including my husband Woozle – all around the edges. I like the way this experiment worked out, and will probably create more cards like this one in the future.

Love is a strong word we throw around when describing a lot of things – food, people, places, activities, colors, etc. We ‘love’ so many things which is exciting and very enthusiastic; does that minimize the word when we spread it across so many things? Do I love chocolate chip cookies the same way I love my spouse, not really? Do I love traveling and much as I love being home, probably not. But I use the same word to describe all these things. Maybe I have a limited vocabulary? Maybe I am a lazy language user? Maybe I do ‘love’ all these things and the English language is limited in the options it provides? The eskimos have more than twenty words to mean ice, so why do we have only one word to describe love?

Maybe the challenge is really how we relate to the things, activities, people in our lives. We adore them, enjoy them, savor them, love them…but most people say they ‘love’ this or that. Perhaps it is lazy language or an over abundance of opportunity. If we took a moment to think before we speak then maybe we would choose a different word to describe the emotion behind our ‘love’ of people, places, and experiences. Maybe we REALLY do love all these area of our life and love is the only word that truly emotes what we want to say?

So who or what do you love? Do you know? More importantly, do the people in your life know you love them? Tell them, hug them, let them know you love them. It may be an over utilized word, yet all of us need to hear it often. We need to be reminded that we matter, what we do matters, and that our emotions are genuine. There can never be too much love in our lives, no matter what it is describing.