When talking to a spouse, a child, a parent or even a friend, do you find yourself saying ‘I love you’ when you say goodbye or even instead of saying goodbye?
I have started thinking that maybe I say ‘I love you’ too often, too easily or too insincerely. We most often say ‘I love you’ when we are in a relationship with a potential life partner but sometimes the phrase ‘I love you’ rolls off our tongues far too quickly, even before we think about what we have said. Each time we say this phrase the other person often replies “I love you too” more out of habit than out of conviction.
We often say ‘I love chocolate’ or ‘I love watching football’. I believe we have trivialised the phrase in such a way that what was once meant as a strong declaration of intent has now been relegated to a catch phrase.
To be in love means to adore, worship, feel affection for or be devoted to the person you are addressing. Can you honestly say that you mean this every time you say it? I for one have started to only say those three special words when I really mean it and not as a throwaway line.
Maybe it would be better for us to keep the ‘I love you’ for a special person when we can honestly look into their eyes and truly say “I love YOU”.
