Words Words Words (and Hamlet)

 From child sayings like
Sticks and stones may break your bones but words can never hurt you...
to songs like
You are beautiful in every single way, words can't bring you down....
Everyone seems to have an idea of what words mean or don't mean.


Well here's my idea.
These are all wrong.
Besides our actions and the silences in between, words are the most powerful thing in the entire world.
If this weren't so, then speeches would never create a reaction, books would never hold interest, theatre wouldn't captivate an audience with laughter or strike them silent with its depth. Writing would mean, nothing.

Here I am on my soapbox (and let's face it: at barely 5' tall I could use one) and you're probably wondering, where does this come from? Let's just say I'm interacting on a daily basis with someone who is constantly cutting every part of me down in just about every way. I've had theatre professors analyze every step of my movement, personality, and my acting techniques and approaches; I've had English professors and editors cut my writing into red ink bleeding chunks of paper to be revised; I've had people redirect everything from my sewing to painting technique, and I have never felt cut down from it like I do now. I suppose that's because each of those moments was never a personal insult but an opportunity to learn and grow and make myself better. I've never had someone cut me down like this before, and I must admit, it's really brought me down and making me feel lousy and miserable.

It's making me realize just how much words can change our day and how we feel. And it's making me appreciate the positive words that much more.

Who knows what someone is really going through? What if they're having a bad day? What if they're going through a rough time? Who knows what a simple kindness can do for them. I know what it does for me.
So choose your words wisely. They are yours and people might watch your actions, but that doesn't mean they're not listening too.

As for me, don't worry because I know I will be okay. I can accept that words can bring me down, because then that means words have the power to lift me back up again.
Thanks for letting me feel important on my soapbox,
-A

A word is dead
When it is said,
Some say.
I say it just
Begins to live
That day.
Emily Dickinson