L-O-V-E S-P-E-L-L

By: Shy-girl

            When we were young, we were taught to spell the word correctly. One teacher in my elementary years asked me; Shy can you spell the word love? I directly say L-O-V-E. Very good! She commented. I was so happy to know that I got it correctly; good enough that I was not asked to give its meaning.

            Love has been spelled differently in different walks of life. For a couple in love, love spelled T-O-G-E-T-H-E-R; for a five  year old kid, love spelled T-O-Y; for a newly graduate student, love spelled W-O-R-K; for a business man, love spelled M-O-N-E-Y, for best of friends, love spelled S-E-C-R-E-T-S; for an overseas worker, love spelled M-O-N-E-Y T-R-A-N-S-F-E-R. Therefore, we cannot expect the same answer of that certain question, for experiences in life bring changes on how love had to be spelled.

            I’ve been wondering many times just to find what love is all about. Suddenly, my attention has been caught by the clock hanging silently on the wall. I observed how the long hand and short hand moved. The long hand turned faster leaving the short hand behind. But have you ever notice that though both worked so hard, still have the time to meet 24 times a day.

Common people spelled love as T-I-M-E. There have been many things that can replace it, yet only time has the power to satisfy. One can give everything even in absence of love but only few can spend time to ask the kid on street “ Do you like to play with me?” enough for the child to feel he is being loved and cared.

            One time our lesson was about “Home”. I asked my students a motive question, “How will you know that your parents love you? The room was so silent. It seems nobody would dare to answer. After a minute, a boy in the corner had raised his right hand and forces a smile on his face while saying… “I will know that my parents love me, if we eat together at breakfast without a newspaper on hand, leaving the telephone unanswered and asking me where I wanted to go on weekends.  I was totally confused regarding his answer but I never challenge him with another supporting question. I proceed to my lesson proper though I was baffled to what I heard earlier. At lunch time, I called him and we sat together under the cashew nut tree. I told him the story about the “Echoes” where the father brought his son on the mountain and had happy time together. Teaching his son everything he ought to know and how a good man should behave. I chose that story because I wanted to know his sensitivity. He looked at me straight that before I was able to say my last words, he interrupted me with a question. “Teacher is your dad still alive?” I said, yes, with so much strength. “Do you see him often?” I answered, of course. He was so silent for a moment, thinking so deeply. I held him close to me and embraced him so tightly. Is there anything you wanted to share? I am willing to listen. He cried and told me that he had a hard time meeting his dad’s expectation. He always makes his dad disappointed on his grades. He used to hear him say, “You should study hard and be like your elder brother for we pay much on your tuition fee and have to return it with good grades.” He sobs and I kept on waiting for his next words. After he got his breath again, he finally confessed what he felt within, “They expect something from me but never have time to teach me.”

            There are 24 hours in a day and 7 days in a week. How much you’ve spent time filling the emptiness of the one you dearly love? Have you ever considered material things to replace it? We mistakenly showed love at times because we often forget its true measurement. We’ve been busy making a living to satisfy their needs, thinking that it could be enough to make them feel being loved. We exerted much effort only to find out at the end that it is more appreciated when showed in a very simple way.

One day picnic of a happy family together,

 One hour conversation of a distant friend,

One minute hug of a couple in loved,

And a single touch of the one we cannot live without.

            We might not be like a long hand and short hand in the clock, constantly keeping in touch in a day but hopefully, we ever try to show our love in our own little time just to make them feel how valuable they are in our lives.

            I definitely misspelled the word, but only those who have a compassionate heart can say I’m absolutely right.