The Art of Love

For a few days now I keep hearing “If a picture paints a thousand words, then why can’t I paint you?” Of course the phrase “A picture paints a thousand words” has been around forever, but what I have been hearing is the line from the song by Bread. Is this you? Have you been saying this to me over and over again for some reason?

If you are hearing it, there must be some significance. What does it mean to you?

Hmmm, “if a picture paints a thousand words, then why can’t I paint you?” The first thing that comes to mind, is the grieving I have been doing the past week or so. Long, old, overdue by about 34 years grieving of my first love who was murdered at seventeen. It has been so hard for me to picture him; to remember what he looked like and I have wanted so badly to remember. So I guess I have felt I can’t “paint” him.

So, why not try using “a thousand words” instead?

Just the thought of that makes me smile. I’ll bet I could come up with two thousand or more. Just thinking of him fills me with so much love I feel I can float away right now, never looking back. As I wrote and felt this, I realized, one thousand words are not enough, while at the same time one is more than enough. And here we go again, like a broken record. I’ll bet you can guess what word that is?

Why not say it anyway.

Love. Of course, it’s Love. I don’t need thousands of words, or even paints to picture/feel him. All I have to do is think of him and instantly I feel the love.

Now I know why “if a picture paints a thousand words” I could not “paint” him. Because he is only one word and it is Love.

~December 5, 2007