“Daddy, I love you.”
Those four words were given to me by my son tonight. They were given to me without prompt or pretense. My son hasn’t been tainted yet by the world in which he lives, his sincerity is still pure. He isn’t scared of what may come if he tells his dad that he loves him; so he says it without reserve. I wish my world was filled with more childhood sincerity and honesty. Children just seem to know what love is all about.
Over the past few weeks, I had been struggling with trying to find a connection through people that I had believed were my friend. I have always had the issue where I would mistake friendliness with friendship. While both words sound similar, neither are synonymous with each other. I am surrounded by a lot of friendly people and there are times when I get bitterly disappointed when some of these people are not sincere and honest with me. But that is my problem, not theirs. It is up to me to realize that friendliness is not love, it is not honest and it is not always sincere.
When I am told by my son that he loves me. It is validation that while we are not always friendly towards each other, we are best friends. Love is the combination of sincerity, honesty and respect. When one of those ingredients is missing, there is no love and when there is no love, there is no friendship. Thankfully, with his four words “Daddy, I love you” he reminded me of what friendship is all about.