♥ all you need is love ♥

"And, in the end, the love you take/Is equal to the love you make." ~ Lennon and McCartney

photo by Bakerella.

Recently, Len cleaned out his desk at work and brought home this:

It’s a Valentine’s Day gift I had given him about twenty years
ago — a small tin full of cut-out hearts. On each, I had written something I especially loved or appreciated about him.

I had almost forgotten all about it, and was tickled he had kept it all these years (he’s not exactly the sentimental type). When I read the hearts, all of them were still true: "You are kind and honest." "You like sportscars." "You know how to sew and cook." Through the years, we’ve given each other all kinds of gifts — dinners out, jewelry, books, clothing, tickets to concerts, chocolates, flowers. But these hearts, which cost me nothing, seem to have outlasted everything else. Len’s sharing them with me was the best gift I could have gotten this year.

Recently, while watching the Beatles’, "All You Need is Love," I thought about the truth of the song’s simple message, how most of us agree it’s important and will always be relevant, but somehow we keep forgetting to honor it in our daily lives. Love begins with each one of us, in whatever small way we can think of to share and express it. Pass it on. It matters.

Here’s another version performed by young South Korean guitar virtuoso, Sungha Jung. Turn up the volume to fully appreciate the crisp notes and beautiful tone of his instrument. I love that this Beatles song has been embraced by a younger generation.

In case you’re having trouble expressing your feelings, here’s how to say "I Love You" in 31 different languages:

Chit pa de (Burmese)
Gv ge yu hi (Cherokee)
Moi oiy neya (Cantonese)
Wo ai ni (Mandarin)
Jeg elsker dig (Danish)
Ik hou van jou (Dutch)
Ana bahebek (Egyptian)
Tora dust midaram (Farsi)
Je t’aime (French)
Ta gra agam ort (Gaelic)
Ich liebe Dich (German)
S’agapo (Greek)
Aloha Wau Ia’Oe (Hawaiian)
Ani ohev otach (Hebrew, male to female)
Ani ohevet otcha (Hebrew, female to male)
Kuv hlub koj (Hmong)
Ti voglio bene (Italian)
Aishiteru (Japanese)
Saranghaeyo (Korean)
Lela washtae che la ke (Lakota)
Eg elskar deg (Norwegian)
Gi zah gin (Ojibwe)
Iniibig kita (Tagalog)
Ja cie kocham (Polish)
Eu te amo (Portuguese/Brazilian)
Amo-te (Portuguese)
Te iubesc (Romanian)
Ya vas liubliu (Russian)
Te amo (Spanish)
Jag alskar dig (Swedish)
Seni Seviyurum (Turkish)
‘Rwy’n dy garu di (Welsh)