Wind, emotion and love

WIND, EMOTION AND LOVE

It was one of those moments in time when a father and son sit quietly together on the couch, both lost in sundry, passing thought. Casually the child looked at his father and asked, "What is emotion?"

Putting aside other ponderings, the father toyed with the question and, knowing that a dictionary would be of little value in forming a response, replied, "Emotion is what gives substance and meaning to love."

The child replied, as is often the case, "I don't understand, dad."

"Try to think of it in these terms: What is wind?" "Wind", he continued, "is what gives substance and meaning to air." "We are sitting here and air is all about us but don't recognize it, its just there." "Without it, we would die, we would know that it wasn't there but, in this moment, it's simply here." "If we go outside and there is no wind we then think only in terms of hot, warm or, cold. Not air." "Now, along comes a cooling breeze. This slow, soft movement of air gives it meaning. We feel its presence, it touches us and we recognize it."

"Wind is a funny thing. It is always changing in strength and direction. It may sooth us in quiet moments and within an instant become a foreboding presence, warning us to seek shelter and protection." "It serves to give substance and quality to the unseen, unrecognized presence of air."

"Does that make sense?"

"Sort of" the child responded in that "Not quite but, let's move on" fashion that children often utilize. "What about emotion, though" he asked.

"Emotion, well," the pause was momentary but noticeable, "emotion is like the wind. It's that thing that bonds feelings and words and gives them substance."

"What do I say to you every night as I tuck you into bed?"

"You tell me that you love me."

"Yes, and do you believe me?"

"Sure, dad!"

"Why is that?"

"Because you always smile and give me a kiss, that's why."

Quietly, the father looked at his son and said, "That's what emotion does. I could easily yell up from the den, I love you son. But, after a while it would become just air, a sound in the night; of no value other than to announce the end of the day."

"I do love you son. I loved you before you were even born but had no way of expressing it." "When you were born, I could have simply said to you that I loved you and let it go at that." "But it would not have been enough for either of us." "No, I had to take you in my arms and hold you close to me, as I wept tears of joy when you came into this world." "Emotion is what moves me to call you, when I am away on trips, just to say hello and hear your voice. Emotion driven love is what causes me to be protective of you when you may not need me to be." "Love, with emotion, is what made me jump up and yell, while I clapped when you were in the school play!"

"Yah, I remember how stupid I felt when you did that!"

"Well, that's what emotion does to you sometimes. When your mother and I were dating, I did a lot of stupid things because of emotion!" "But, do you understand what I'm saying about emotion?" "There is love and there is air. We know that they are there but often we can't recognize them. We only know when they aren't there." "It's wind and emotion that allow us to feel them and notice their strength." "I can't just say that I love you and be done with it. Emotion demands that I do more."

"We all need more in life than just air!"

"Does this make some sense to you son?"

"Yes, dad."

"Dad," the boy quietly said, "I love you!"

As he quietly hugged his son, he whispered softly in his ear, "Let's not get too emotional about this!"

They both smiled as a soft breeze entered the room through an open window.