Three little words

You know you need to say it; V-day's the perfect day

By S. Derrickson Moore
Sun-News reporter
LAS CRUCES — This is the day. Do it now.
Phone, text, e-mail, Tweet ‘em on Twitter, do it in person or by snail mail.
Say “I love you.”
Three little words can change lives, instill hope, inspire creativity, give us a sense of belonging and community and, according to physicians, philosophers, poets and psychologists, enhance our enjoyment of life and maybe even our will to live.
If you’ve always found it tough, do it anyway.
If you’ve always found that it comes pretty easily, do it more.
Say it like you mean it. And mean it.
And we’re not just talking romantic, passionate, spend-your-life-with-me-and-be-mine-forever love declarations, though if you’re in the zone and have a forever beloved in mind, this is the perfect time to declare yourself.
But also remember, that as Dean Martin used to sing to us in the olden days, “Everybody loves somebody sometime.”
Tell your friends you love them.
Tell your mom, your dad, your aunts, your uncles, your cousins, your grandparents, your daughters and sons, your grandkids and great-grandkids and great-grandkids.
Follow up with a poem, if you like. It’s hard to beat the classic by Elizabeth Barrett Browning:
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach....
Google “love poems” and choose some more, if you like. Trust me, poets have been working on this as long as there have been love and words. They’ve got it down.
But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go for a poem of your own. However it turns out, chances are your beloved will appreciate it more than words can say.
Still, say the words. Put them to music if you feel inspired: He or she will also be touched by the effort and the sentiments, no matter what your skill level.
Google “love songs” and find your favorites. Do some downloads. Make a custom mix with “our” song and all the favorite songs that remind you of him or her.
Has your soul mate died? I know some wonderful, grieving people who are missing some very special loved ones now. Spend a little quiet time with your memories today and maybe have a little chat with your departed loves.
And tell them you love them, still and forever.
They’ll hear you.
Love transcends space and time.
Love lasts forever.
Make a list of everybody you love. And everybody you’ve ever loved. Check it twice. And say “I love you” at least once to everyone on the list.
Think you’re done? Not quite. Send your love to all creation, great and small.
Say a message of love to your Creator and anyone who has helped you on your spiritual path.
Check out First Corinthians 13:1-13, Paul’s undying Love 101 course for us all, that ends: “But now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; and the greatest of these is love.”
Keep saying “I love you.”
Tell your dogs and your cat and your pet turtles and rabbits. Tell your parrots and ferrets.
Your pets will understand, as any animal lover knows.
Tell your plants. Maybe they’ll understand on some green, leafy, loving level, too, and at the very least, they’ll appreciate the Co2 and turn it back into loving oxygen for you.
That’s how love works: the more of it you give away, the more you get.
Happy Valentine’s Day. I love you, Las Cruces.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com, (575) 541-5450