In our relationships, particularly our closest and personal ones, we are only ever saying one of two things:

I love you
or
I’m scared.

Of course, ‘I love you’ might not sound like ‘I love you.’ It can just as easily sound like ‘stop bullshitting to yourself and get off your ass and do it!’

Similarly, ‘I’m scared’ might not sound like ‘I’m scared.’ It can just as easily sound like ‘you’re a fucking asshole, Phil.’
Even these ‘alternative’ expressions of ‘I love you’ and ‘I’m scared’ are expressions of a deeper desire in the heart - to love and be loved.

Our challenge in any relationship is being conscious enough to hear what is being said behind the words. We can only do that if we listen, not with our ears, not with our heads, not with our egos, but with our hearts, with our souls, with our inner being, since our hearts and souls, too, have the same basic desires, to love and be loved.

Once we see this, we can see that all communication in our most intimate relationships is an expression of love.