Summary
The meaning of “I love you” can vary greatly depending on the context and the individuals involved. Ultimately, love is a deeply personal and subjective experience. It can be influenced by many factors, including personality, circumstances, and the nature of the relationship.
I love you. We tell a relative or a friend that we love them, but do we really mean what we say or are we are only making a conventional statement? How can you love someone who you do not spend time with and have shared experiences with?
Distance does not bring closeness even if you have much affection for the other person. This distance can be in kilometers or in lifestyles. On the other hand, distance can bring closeness. I suppose it depends on the temperament of the person involved.
According to Wikipedia, “Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure.”
Of course, you cannot believe most things you read or hear nowadays, so it is up to the individual to define what love means to them.
When I tell my grandchildren that I love them, what do I mean? Age and distance separate us, so we do not have shared experiences. The care and affection are there but they lack depth.
A quick search tells me this about depth that may be related to the topic at hand. (1) the distance from the top or surface to the bottom of something. (2) the quality of being intense or extreme. (3) complexity and profundity of thought. Only quoting a few definitions.
Ideapod.com tells me that emotional depth is, “Emotional depth is defined as the ability to register and understand other people’s emotions and can often be mixed with emotional intelligence.”
So, what does relational depth mean to me? To me it means being emotionally, spiritually, and physically connected. The outer shell of this depth is the spoken word that is only the conveyance of an inner feeling.
For me, saying I love you is not a conventional statement uttered to fill air space but a meaningful expression of how I feel towards that person. But what do I know except that which I know and feel.
And since what I know and feel is transitory, I love you is for the moment because I have no say so concerning always and forever even though that may be my resolve.
I am not making a vague statement when I tell someone that I love them, or am I? I have not felt any love for myself so how can I be sure that what I am feeling is love for someone else?
Britannica.com tells me that, “love, an emotion characterized by strong feelings of affection for another arising out of kinship, companionship, admiration, or benevolence.” Ok, but how do I know what I am feeling is love?
Do I know what I am telling myself and trying to convince myself of? I have caring and affection towards members of my family, so I will accept that as love even though I do not know if love is only a feeling or a living entity as well.
And as I close my eyes for the final time, will love stay with me or will love fade away as if it never existed? Who knows? I care. I love you.