I Love You

Such simple words, "I Love You." But why do we dole these three words out with such caution and reluctance?

It seems that the older I get, the more I am reminded, daily, that life is such a precicious commodity. In the news we read about car accidents, war casualties, illnesses. There is so much saddness in our lives, but yet we overlook the simplicity of three little words. Words that are so easy to say. It rolled off our tongues so easily when we were mere toddlers looking up adoringly into our parent's eager faces as we were learning difficults tasks that would carry us through our lifetime. Tasks like crawling, walking, feeding and dressing ourselves. Things that we take for granted now.

We would fall down and skin a knee and our mom would scoop us up and cuddle us and plant a kiss on our forehead, she would say, "I love you," and life would be wonderful once again.

Why can't we look at our spouse, our children, our friends and just tell them that we love them? Why is this such a difficult thing to say? Or perhaps, it isn't as difficult as it is simply forgotten.

We have become a society that is obsessed with our electronic gadgets, our mp3 players, our computers, our television sets, even our cars. We forget that the basic communication skills are sorely lacking.

I can see this in my employees that are of the generation Y. The children born of the 1980s. They were born into a world that was moving at a pace unheard of. Cell phone were coming of age. Vinyl records became antiques. Cassette tapes and VCRs were also quickly swept under the rug. These children didn't know how to go outside and play tag or jump rope. They lounged in their bedrooms playing videogames. They soon learned that the computer replaced verbal communication. It not only cut down on the time that it took to push the buttons on the telephone to connect to their friends, but now they connect to the entire globe.

With all of these choices, how can they be expected to focus on a simple conversation? How can they be expected to purchase a season's subscription to ONE theater company -- how boring!! Generation Y is a conservative bunch but yet needs a lot of nurturing.

How different it was for me growing up. This is the realization that I am of a different generation. I remember in the early 1970s when the question arose about whether or not there was a generation gap.

Well, of course there was. There is and there will always be. But why can't we just stop and say those three simple words, "I Love You?" It might make the generation gap a little less extreme.