27 April 2021 – Anyone who has ever received a personal email or text from me has probably received a green heart. When I want someone to know that I care about them, am thinking about them, love them, or empathize with them, I will add at least one green heart to my message, sometimes more. What am I trying to say with my green heart, and what do those who receive it think I am trying to say?

I decided to look up what the meaning behind a green heart is. Here is what I found. The green heart is usually used to express you like something or someone without making it seem too serious, like if you used the red one. Most people use a green heart when saying “I love you” to someone who’s just a friend. That sounded fine, and I should have stopped there, but being the logically minded person I am, I needed to look at all the data. So then I found the following from Cosmopolitan: The green heart is a braggart’s heart. This tends to speak more on the sender’s behalf than any relationship the sender has with the receiver. You’re likely to get this tacked on to the end of a “Hey, I know we haven’t spoken in a while, but—” text. According to the emojis wiki, it means envy. You put some green hearts if you think that somebody or you (wink) is envious about something. Dictionary.com says it is commonly used to represent love, support, close bonds, and admiration for things related to the color green.

It is always so interesting to see the many different interpretations of the same thing. I am here to tell you that to me, a green heart means so much. I don’t waste words or emojis. I care too much about people to do things without meaning. Everything I do and say, text or email, has meaning. I can rewrite a message many times before I send it because I have to be sure I am conveying only exactly what I want to say. I am not going to add a random emoji or send a random GIF – I am going to worry over it first. I know that is ridiculous, but I worry so much about hurting someone’s feelings or saying the wrong thing that I am overly careful, even with my green hearts.

So, if you receive a green heart from me, it was put there on purpose. If I add a green heart to the end of a message, it is like a simple “I love you” as I walk out the door or hang up the phone. I mean it. If there is one large green heart, it means more. It means that I want you to know that no matter what, I am here for you, and I love you, and if you ever need anything, I will always be here. If there are 3 green hearts, that means I am sending as much love as I can via digital media. I have never sent more than 3. Green hearts are my way of expressing myself via text or email without words – when words would say too much or not say enough.

A couple of years ago, a friend (JS) gave me a beautiful pillow with a green heart on it and with a green heart-shaped stone inside. This was her gift to me because she knew I would understand what it meant better than anything else she could have given me. I still have it on my bed, and whenever I see it, I do three things, I think of that friend, I pray for that friend and her family, and I remember I need to be sure to tell those I love how I feel. This green heart was a perfect gift for me.

How do you tell others how you feel? Do they know what you are saying? Would actual words work better? Be sure you tell people how you feel, or at least make sure they understand your green hearts 💚 💚 💚