One of the saddest songs I’ve ever heard has these lyrics:

“I guess the reason we’re not talkin’
There’s so little left to say, we haven’t said

While a million thoughts go racin’ through my mind
I find I haven’t spoke a word.”

A Good Year for the Roses
Song by George Jones

When one of my friends died (due to complications from Covid-19), I grieved for several days.
At some point, I asked myself what was causing me so much pain. The answer is the title of this post. I realized I had never told him how important he and his friendship were to me. That made me angry with myself.

Angry tears I’ve known. Impermanence I know.

After that realization, I decided to start telling everyone how much they mean to me. And, although the sentiment in the song I’ve quoted doesn’t match what I’m saying here, it simply feels good to finally put this into words and publish it for the world to see.

If you love someone, don’t set them free (quoting another song with misguided sentiment), tell someone you love him or her. Missing this opportunity, should you ever lose someone, will likely make that loss more painful. At least, that’s what happened to me.

The good people in my life know I love them. This might be a good time to tell your good people you do.

Photo by Vitolda Klein on Unsplash