It is a maddening fact that we can’t talk to the ones we love the most. Keeping our eyes and ears open and paying attention to body language gives subtle clues as to whether we are engaging each other’s heart. Thankfully, for us with tongue-tied loved ones, actions speak louder than words. Nonetheless, talking is easy but real communication is hard.

Communicating with mom, pop, brother and sis or significant other is not like talking to any one else. Timing is all crucial. There are times when silence is golden. There are other times when conversation brings a world of understanding and reinforces our relationships. Self-preservation is high up there on our fear list. It is a known fact that family members deal differently with each other than they do with other people and we often find ourselves in psychological competition.

Communication is complicated, full of frustrations and fatigue. Our dreams, hopes and inner voices are worth exploring with one another. Mark Twain says "The difference between the right word and the nearly right word is the same as the as that between lightning and the lightning bug." Leo Buscaglia author of "Love" says, "Love is a mirror, when you see another, you become his mirror and he becomes yours...and in reflecting each other's love, you see infinity."

Communication is the spice that awakens our taste buds to each other’s hearts although some have found silence a great tool to avoid or punish a loved one. If we can’t sleep at night after a long hard day, maybe, it is because we have left too much unsaid, or in contrast, we said too much. How many of us really would like a second chance at a conversation gone badly just so we could get a good night's sleep?

Communication is an inside-out process with our words overflowing our good sense. Except in the case of systematic emotional or verbal abuse, the biggest enemy of relationships is the electric hypersensitivity that flows erratically between us. We often inadvertently push each other’s buttons with repetitive criticism, yelling, stonewalling, sulking, insults, resentment, anger, and in general, a failure to be kind. Using good judgment and kindness when communicating with loved ones. Often we treat strangers better. Why is that? It is always good to remember the youngest and the eldest need our communication the most. Take time to fill the silence of the lonely.

Waldo Emerson recommends us, "To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know everyone has breathed easier because you lived. This is to have succeeded."