I have been doing a lot of thinking lately about words. Too much thinking! I feel like I need to dump all the words in my head out so I can have room for other things...like the exams I need to be studying for!
The power that our words hold can be amazingly wonderful, and fearfully dangerous. Some folks throw around negative words without a thought, feeling they have every right to express how they are feeling and you just need to adapt. Still others refuse to speak the words they so desperately want to out of fear of reprisal. There are those who will write words they could never say in public (read any comment stream on a hot bed post or news article pretty much anywhere)...free to throw their weight around as long as no one knows who they are. Opinions are a dime a dozen. Every one has one, and most are free to share theirs. The other side of that coin is, there are those who would prefer you didn't share yours, and will use their words or non words to let you know.
We will go far to defend our right to our own opinion. I was in class the other day, and there were some guys talking in their normal voices while the professor was speaking (class size probably about 200). The professor is a female, and she has a fairly quiet voice. We couldn't hear at all...so I shushed them. Big mistake. They not only proceeded to talk more, they started talking to their friends a few rows behind them. I got a look that let me know I was the 2 headed witch without a clue, and the rest of the class was a waste of time.
Once words are spoken, they can't ever be taken back. You can apologize or make an effort to explain them more fully, but they can never be undone. It is the same with words that are left unspoken. You may be given another chance to put a voice behind your thoughts, but you may not. There is a song with the lyrics "words said in anger aimed at someone, are hard to take back once the damage is done"...I would say they are impossible to take back, but I have been accused of letting my mind work overtime and making too much out of things. More words that can't be forgotten...
Have you ever told someone you loved them and gotten silence back in return? The pain of those non words is carried a long time. Waited for a "thank you" that never came? Even though we shouldn't do things with the expectation of thanks...not giving thanks when you are on the receiving end is just rude. Of course, there are times when there just aren't the right words to speak to someone in pain, then the best form of non verbal communication is just a hug. Unless the recipient isn't a "hugger"...then you may just make things worse :)
We are a complex lot!!
I'm not sure this post has a point. I have just heard so many things lately that have filled my head with questions about why we say the things we do. Walking across campus the other day while following a group of young men, I wanted to go "nani"on them and ask them to just get to the point without the profanity. Their conversation could have been done in 5 steps. I'm pretty sure they would have had words for me that would have made an even bigger impact...so I just changed direction.
Have a care with your words, and the attitude you dispense them with. And be truthful, because a lie or gossip spoken is the worst kind of ugly. In the words of the Sunday school song ... "be careful little mouth what you say". The end.
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