WORDS ABOUT WORDS
Did you know that the strongest muscle in the body is the tongue (also known as masseter)? Yeah, that’s right! Well, there’s definitely a scientific explanation for this but if you ask me, I’d say the reason for this is because the tongue is a more fatal weapon than any other thing in the world. Why do I think so? Because sometimes all it takes is a single word to turn someone’s world upside down! Obviously, this all depends on how you look at it, a good word can sweep someone off their feet and put them up on cloud nine, and on the other hand, an offensive one can easily erase every little crumb of self-worth someone had within just a moment!
It always amazes me how words are really just words, merely sound waves carried away by the wind within moments of being said, but then at the same time they have this immense power to stay with you and live in your mind even years after being said to you. Sometimes words are said unintentionally, but the wounds they cause can run deep to the bone. I don’t know if this happens to you but personally, words people say to me live in my head longer than I want them to especially those that were particularly unkind; sometimes it’s as if they even begin to haunt and torment me! I know they say “words are just words”, “don’t listen to what anyone says it doesn’t matter” but this exactly is my point here, words aren’t just words, at least not all the time!
I feel like this is something we’ve all experienced; someone you’re fondly acquainted with or even a stranger says to you something that’s explicitly humiliating or sometimes they make a casual remark that’s simply rude and it just gets to you, it echoes in your mind even long after they said it and messes completely with your sense of self-worth. In between trying to get over their hurtful words, sometimes, you subconsciously let these words define you-“she said I’m a loser, maybe it’s true!” The saddest part about this all is that most times, the person never realizes the impact their words had on you. Naturally, these are two positions we’ve all been in; not only have we been wounded by someone else’s words, but also ,either intentionally or unintentionally, we’ve all said words that scarred someone else.
Words have the power to trigger a whirlwind of emotions in a person; they can warm a heart or turn it ice cold- words can take a life, they can dig deep into someone’s soul and poke at their deepest insecurities. Words can create and define beautiful things, but words can also tear down and destroy things very severely. One word, a promise or a lie can turn someone’s world around. Words can erase pain, and words too, they can stab someone in the heart. At the end of it all, how we use words is completely up to us. Do you want your words to be the reason someone is struggling with self-esteem and laden with shame, the reason why that girl you once dated now believes she’s so difficult to love, the reason why someone feels like he’ll never be man enough, the reason why someone is so insecure about their body; do you want that to be the purpose of your words? I can’t answer that for you, but how you choose to use your words from now on will!
LEONINKSMITTEN
