It doesn't take a book.

Oct 29, 2011 20:38

I love you.
I need you.
I want you.

All phrases that are wonderful to hear from the people that you care about.

Let me help.
Please come in.
Please come back.

Words that can mean the world when you're at the end of your rope.

It doesn't take an essay or a sonnet to make a world of difference to someone. It takes caring enough to open up and come out from behind the walls that separate us. Far too often, we live our lives trying to not touch those around us, for fear that we might get hurt.

Words can hurt. Words can kill someone's spirit as surely as a blade can slay the body, but words can also nurture and heal if there is friendship behind them. I once spent almost two years with people around me telling me that I was a horrible monster and that no one should have to be around me. I don't care what anyone else might say about inner strength or not caring what others think of you, when something like that goes on long enough, it sinks in and messes with your mind. When my current wife first found me, I had been systematically broken down to the point that her first words to me meant life itself. After that, we chatted online for months before we ever met face-to-face. When I did get to her house the first time, I wasn't even sure that she wouldn't change her mind and send me away.

She said "Welcome. Come in." When I left, she said "Please come back." The weekend between that was spent with many more than three words in some spots, and hours of watching movies and saying less than three words in other spots, but I still remember the fear before and relief after she invited me into her home.

Over four years later, we can talk about anything, but the most special times still contain few words. Often, she will use the words "my wonderful husband", and I will say "I love you", and a gentle touch can still speak volumes. A silent smile and a caress can still say "you are wonderful" or "I adore thee".

lj idol

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