Remember that childhood limerick about sticks and stones? You know … the one that goes:
“Sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me.”
Well, I am here to tell you that is nothing but crap. No matter how you look at it, words have power. Words can build up or tear down. They can encourage or be defeating. They can show compassion or a total lack of respect for other people.
That’s what I think is wrong with the world today. We are all too quick to make snap judgments and say something without fully comprehending how our words will impact the person to whom we are directing them.
And we don’t have to actually say those words to another human being for them to have disastrous consequences. Once we think them, they are in our heads. They bounce around and gather momentum. The words we say to ourselves can be just as cruel as those spat out by any bully on the playground.
How do I know this? Well, those types of words float around in my head constantly. I’m fat. I’m ugly. I’m lazy. I have no talents. I’m a terrible writer. I’m an awful housekeeper. My husband is ashamed of me. The world would be a better place without me in it.
See?
I can’t imagine ever speaking those words out loud to another living being. If my children talked to other people like that, I would be furious and they would know it. Yet, I am totally comfortable speaking those words to myself.
And I BELIEVE them.
So I’ve started this blog primarily as a way to prove to myself that those words are wrong. That I am smart and talented. That others respect me. That my thoughts are important. Maybe if I say those words to myself more often, the others wouldn’t make me feel like such a failure.
My hope is that this place … this virtual meeting room … will become a place where truth is spoken. Where words are used positively. Where readers (and I) will find hope. I’ll relate how I’m trying to rephrase that negative self-talk into something positive. And I hope I can help someone — anyone — out there.
Please let me know your frustrations and hopes and dreams and wishes and disappointments and whatever you’d like to share. I have no degree that would give me the authority to put myself in this position. But I do have experience. A lot of it. Almost 58 years’ worth. That should count for something.
I wish you blessings and peace! Until next time …
Susie