Beyond Words: Actions That Deepen Relationships
Building Bonds Through Small Gestures
In a time when we are bombarded with words texts, posts, conversations, and calls we easily mistake words as the glue that binds relationships. But some of those most profound connections are made through action rather than words.
Small gestures can speak volumes more than your words ever will about your love, trust, and understanding. Today, making connections with small acts is creating an unspoken language that reads as; I am here, I get you, I care from the mouth of the one giving and basks as the feeling of; I matter, I am seen, I am loved by the one receiving it.
Take a look at the narrative of Mia and her grandmother, Celia. Mia resided within a thriving urban environment where she was constantly busy with her career, and her social life from sunrise to sunset. But she had spent her childhood summers at her grandmother’s house in the countryside, a sanctuary of tranquility, coziness, and boundless tales. Celia was not able to offer much from a material standpoint, but her presence, wisdom, and soft grace were treasures to Mia.
When Mia was younger, she seldom returned to Celia’s house, being carried away in her career. Celia, in her usual understated way, never complained or urged her to come. Returned to her own life she just kept sending Mia postcards, with a few words on them and a little flower pressed on paper from the garden, saying there was still some beauty, some calmness to be found there.
After a long exhausting day at work one night, Mia stumbled into some of her old boxes of postcards while cleaning. She put her hands on each one and read them, the love that her grandmother poured into them enveloped her. Every postcard was more than just paper and ink; it was also a reminder of her childhood, her origins, and the tie she had never lost with Celia. Mia immediately got a wave of emotions and decided to take the weekend off and go visit her grandma.
Mia didn’t announce her arrival when she got to Celia’s house. It was light warm, and inviting; Celia sat in her usual chair, purling the yarn into a blanket. Celia looked up, a tad surprised but excited, and smiled. They didn’t require a deep and detailed dialogue to find each other again. Mia just sat down next to her on the couch, picked up the yarn, and helped her knit. They felt the need for words, but their presence alone sufficed.
The next few days, Mia saw how Celia communicated love to her in everything she did. Whether it was cooking up her old favorite meals, or taking Mia on walks in the old family garden, Celia’s silent actions did all the talking for a lifetime of love. They didn’t need words; Mia was grounded in love, stable and unshakable.
Mia looks back to this visit as being a turning point in how she perceives relationships. In a world where everything moves so fast, the subtle things get overlooked yet make the biggest difference. That unrest that behind-the-scenes intimacy that blows up the I am thinking of you, the quiet I am here, and the silent love that grows bigger.
So she vowed to be more like her grandmother to communicate her love not in words, but in the little actions that would last longer than any conversation could have. Ultimately though, Mia discovered the notion that the simplest acts are often the best way to express love; those acts that convey more than words can create lifelong bonds amongst the people who remain in our lives.
