From the Heart
It’s 5:22 a.m. on Saturday when I look at the time on my phone. My bed hugs me tightly, but I know my column is due in a few hours. I have no idea what I am writing about.
I throw back the comfy covers and head to the kitchen table where the words start to flow on my keyboard.
All week long I have grasped for the right topic and the right words. Wait a minute … the right WORDS.
Funny thing is that over the years I seem to have gained more knowledge and wisdom, yet, I use fewer words. My husband will probably argue that statement.
Maybe I just pick and choose my words more carefully.
Oh, the power of words.
Words can calm a troubled soul or enrage the heart into a quarrel.
Words can be a balm when the world in which we live has hurt you to your the very quick of your soul.
When a friend reassures you that all will be OK … someday, then you will know the treasure of a good friend with the right words.
Words can soothe a crying child or force him or her into submission. Choosing the first can create healing. Choosing the second can cause great harm. Either one will be heard over and over again in that child’s mind.
Words cause division. Words are screamed on social media … words that would never be said face to face. We block, delete, and ignore those who oppose our views. We reach a point where we are just DONE.
So many words, yet we are not listening.
We are tired of the rhetoric. We are tired of the constant barrage of words that try to convince us that we are wrong in our beliefs or our feelings.
Screaming never wins an argument, it just turns us away from listening. Silence does not mean that we agree. It simply means we choose to walk away. Enough said.
Words can echo in the mind over and over again. Children need to be reassured that they are loved. They need to hear they are beautiful or handsome. They need to be reaffirmed that they are enough. Oh, the power of feeling that we are ENOUGH.
If children are told they are smart, they will believe it. If children are told they are dumb, they will believe it. They become what they hear.
Words beautifully spoken into a life can change the world for someone. Words of criticism and belittling can also change the world for someone.
Words build up or tear down a relationship. Just ask someone who is divorced or the victim of verbal abuse.
A boss can make or break the success of his business by the words he speaks to his employees. Oh, the possibilities of a few words of appreciation. When an employee feels appreciated, he or she works harder. It’s not rocket science.
Some people have a gift for using the right words at the right time. Some people have the screwed up ability for using the wrong words at the wrong times. Choose your words carefully and remember the timing needs to be right as well.
Words, never spoken, can be a gift in a relationship. Words, never spoken, can do great harm in a relationship. Both sentences are true.
Just because you think someone needs to hear your words does not mean you have to speak them. Silence really can be golden.
Think about how you sound whenever you speak. Are you constantly criticizing or are you constantly building up? Your words determine the future of your relationships with people.
The tongue truly is the weapon of mass destruction. The domino effect may go unseen, but it is there.
Relationships may be built on love; however, your words are the glue that holds you together or the weapon that tears you apart.
A thoughtless, careless, quick utterance of words can be heard as screams over and over in the mind of a hurting soul.
Don’t argue with someone’s feelings. You will never convince them they are wrong in feeling the way that they do with words that diminish how they are feeling. Read that again.
Criticism or neglect of appreciation erases many an effort that someone is trying to make. They give up, leaving behind so many possibilities. Criticism is the key to the door of many an “I don’t give a damn, anymore.”
Finally, as the clock is pushing toward the seven o’clock hour and my deadline draws near, I just want you all to know what an honor it is to be allowed to share my thoughts and my words with you each week in the Hamilton County Reporter. I pray that my words will make a difference in your life.
OK, enough said.