There is huge power in words. They hold an energy of their own that can reach to the deepest places in ourselves. Places we don’t even want to admit exist. Words can give you insight into yourself, into another person, into a relationship and into the future.
The right words can heal you, build bridges between you, and guide you to places you haven’t been. The wrong words can chill you, build walls between you, and start wars among strangers, or friends.
I feel like I never really knew their power until I started becoming more aware of how they affect every thought, every outcome, every relationship, every contract, every vow, and every social interaction. I wish when I learned “Language Arts” in school, I had learned more about the art of language.
I now listen to the words other people have used from a new point of view. I imagine what it would take for me to have put the words together like they have. I wonder what life experiences they have had or how they knew to put the words together the way they did.
What I am seeing over and over again is that vulnerability and humility are always at the heart of the words which have the most meaning and that we connect the most with.
The best song lyrics are the ones that talk about things we feel but don’t say out loud.
The best pieces of writing are the ones that illuminate a part of us we have kept in the shadows.
The best speeches are the ones that ignite something in us we can’t ignite for ourselves.
If you want to deepen your connection with other people, it matters what words you use, how you use them, and how you put them together. It also matters what words you don’t use.
Never underestimate the power of the words you choose, they tell everything.
“Words are things. You must be careful, careful about calling people out of their names, using racial pejoratives and sexual pejoratives and all that ignorance. Don’t do that. Some day we’ll be able to measure the power of words. I think they are things. They get on the walls. They get in your wallpaper. They get in your rugs, in your upholstery, and your clothes, and finally in to you.” – Maya Angelou