Ghost

I watched part of Ghost tonight. The movie with Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore. There is a scene before Patrick Swayze's character is killed where Demi Moore's character says that she loves him. He says "ditto" and she asks him why he never says that he loves her. He says that people say it all the time and they don't mean anything by it. She says that that may be so but she needs to hear it. She needs to hear that he loves her. Then he is gone and he never gets the chance to say that he loves her.

In my life I have only said that I love a handful of people and every single one of them I meant it when I said it. And part of me will always love them. Love for me is admiration and fondness and a desire for them to be happy. I don't regret loving any of them and I wouldn't take back the expression that I loved them.

Love and caring unexpressed are like ghosts. Unresolved emotional business that leave bitter regret and the residue of what might have been. Even if the love and caring are not returned at least the recipient of the expression has been given a gift of love and caring and they can state that they don't return it. There may be heartbreak but there is clarity in the situation. Honesty. And things can resolve.

To not express love deprives the world of badly needed positivity. To express love meaninglessly does as well. There needs to be both sincerity and fearless expression.

And if when one expresses love and caring the emotion is returned, then the love can grow. Love is never something that can be asked for or expected. It can only be freely given.

The expression of love requires more courage than walking into a lion pit or facing a combat situation because there is no certainty of what may happen, but it is still better to express than to not and miss the opportunity.