A line from your house to my house

I was talking to my boyfriend over the phone [mushy lover alert]: “Do you know how much I love you? Imagine a line from my house to your house: that much. Well, perhaps that is still not awfully far, considering I can get to your house by bike in a few minutes, but at least it is a lot longer than the wingspan of my arms. Okay, let me rephrase: I love you that much and a whole lot more”.

My boyfriend has been a huge help to me this week, while I have been stressing out over practical issues like getting a huge fountain prototype to work (more on that later). I feel very grateful for my boyfriend, this week even more than normal. So after this particular phone conversation I was pondering about ways to show him how much I care about him. And then the idea struck me: I would draw a line from my house to his. Using chalk.

And so I did.

I don’t necessarily want to tell you about how much I love my boyfriend (which I do, very much indeed). This whole story has been an illustration of something else, something I like to call ‘creative communication’.

There are a thousand ways to show people you love them. You could help them, give them a big hug, tell them they’re awesome. You can send a text, message, letter or e-mail saying ‘I love you’. These all are great things. But why not use other, less common creative ways to do so as well? There are no boundaries. Not every day perhaps, just every now and then. I realise these ways often take a lot more effort. I have sore muscles to prove that. Creative ways aren’t necessarily better, perhaps just more fun. I think that if it is an idea that makes you slightly uncomfortable, constantly makes you think ‘this is crazy’, yet somehow gives you a twinkle in your eye; then it is probably a good idea.

Don’t limit yourself. There are enough others who will do that for you. You shouldn’t join the limiting crowd, especially not if it concerns your actions. You can be a bright shining star, if only you choose to be one. You can do anything you want, and choose any form of crazy yet awesome communication to show the people around you that you care. Forget about partners. There are so many others to consider as well: family members, friends, a neighbor. I personally love to show random strangers that I care about them as well. There are enough people to show some love. The real question is: are you willing to make the effort and do you have the courage?

[I love you from here to my house, and then even further]