What’s In a Word?

“Sticks and stones can break your bones but words can never hurt me!” Who doesn’t remember this little phrase from childhood? It echoed across the playground, usually when someone was being teased or ridiculed.  We were taught this phrase as a come back to a bully or another antagonizer.  We were taught that whatever someone said didn’t matter to you or that it wouldn’t hurt you. What a fallacy this is! Words can be more powerful than any stick or stone. Words can stick with you for a lifetime causing either irreparable damage or immeasurable benefits.

Just what is in a word anyways? At a basic level they are the building blocks for language and a means to communicate. They tell us great stories of adventure, inspiration, kindness, and be a venue to express our inner being. on the other hand, words can also be mundane, cruel, demeaning and hamper us from fulfilling who we were meant to be. It is so easy to take for granted or underestimate the power of the words that we choose and how they are perceived. The day to day words we chose may be of little consequence to us but in turn can have a tremendous impact to the receiver of these words.

It is very easy for us to forget the meaning that our words have and can cut to the core of someone’s being. There are so many things that I remember from my childhood where words cut you to the core and they are still things that I carry with me as an adult. Things that brought tears when they were spoken feeding into insecurities or things that I was lacking confidence in. In our early youth it seems that we are always looking for that approval from friends, family, or other role models that we respect. Should their opinions be able to cut to who we are? I know what the answer should be, “no”.  Sadly that is not what it was.

We can’t forget the power of our words. There are simple things that we speak or hear that seem innocent enough but for some reason they resonate with some one. They can stick to you like glue, no matter how you try you can’t shed them, you can’t dismiss them , and you certainly can’t forget them. They define our character and help to make us who we are, good or bad. Negative words create the dark demons that reside in that dark place within our soul. The place that we keep hidden from the rest of the world. That part of us that we don’t want the rest of the world to see. The positive words are the things that bring light to our soul. They are our strength, our light, and all the things that make us uniquely awesome! We can not have one without the other. They are the light and dark, the ying and the yang, the peanut butter and jelly, one can not exist with out the other.

The words we use our choice and a choice that should not be taken lightly. We all have the responsibility attached to the words we use or the ones that we don’t. Choose your words wisely and lift up the world around you.