There was a saying when I was a kid: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but whips and chains excite me!” Wait, that’s not quite how it went. Ah! “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never harm me.” Granted, words did hurt. It was a bit of a nursery rhyme designed to teach kids that words aren’t physical objects that can hurt us; however, words can cause emotional and psychological trauma that take much longer to heal than getting whacked in the face with a stick.
Technically, words are just sounds that only mean something because we have given them meaning. Not all words are bad. Even some words that are bad might only be bad in certain instances. What about good words? Are they always good? No. Good words can be turned into bad. Context is always key when knowing the meaning or purpose of a word.
Word have the power to destroy. There are some people out there with the uncanny ability to know just the right words to stab you in the emotional kidneys, releasing the dark blood of your soul. Those people fucking suck! There are toxic people out there that knowingly use words as weapons to make their friends and family feel small and insignificant. Even the nicest of people can unintentionally say something that devastates someone else.
Words also have the ability to create a flood of positive emotions as well. Giving someone an appropriate complement is always good for the self esteem. Words can be used to build people up, especially after they’ve been torn down by someone else. Words can be used to comfort. Love is an emotion, but it can be expressed in words, even if those words are inadequate.
The effectiveness of words has a lot to do with the person speaking, or typing, them. If the person stumbles around, even though the words having meaning, they get lost in the presentation. Even the most profound thought can be destroyed by the lack of execution when putting that thought to words. On the other hand, if someone is proficient with their words, if their skills in forming sentences is sharpened, they can accomplish anything. They can make the worst formed thoughts seem like a magical experience. A story well formed with descriptive language that presents amazing visuals in the mind’s eye can even get someone to sexually climax without them ever being physically touched. Occasions such as this are rare. Sure, there are romance novels, but I don’t see a bunch of women at the airport losing their shit reading those books. There usually has to be some other factors to achieve such outcomes, but such outcomes are possible.
Ultimately, we are responsible for every word that comes out of our mouth. Used incorrectly, words can cause devastation. Words can push people to end their own lives. On the opposite end of the spectrum, words can save such a life. Words can build people up, give them the confidence to succeed. How will you use your words? Should you change your perception of your own language? Do you realize what good, or evil, your words are doing? The answer is all around in the way people respond, unless their a toxic dickhole. If that’s the case, fuck those people and read the previous entry.