It's Only Words

Do you remember when you were a kid, and playmates would sometimes treat you poorly and call you nasty names? We had a retort ready,

Sticks and stones will break my bones,
but names will never hurt me.

Yeah...


No, I never believed it. I have thin skin. Those words stung! I was criticized for being "too sensitive." It took me decades to realize that this hyper-sensitivity is a superpower, not something to be used for derision. Being sensitive allows me to have empathy, sympathy, compassion.





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Four to five years ago, while dealing with some very nasty family business, I was having all kinds of hurtful and untruthful words hurled at me. In large part, I simply refused to push back with words of my own. I remained largely silent, publicly.

Privately, I did a lot of soul searching and reading to make my way through the onslaught. I found this quotation, which I wrote down. But I don't remember who said it. In part:

Words are things.
You can put some words together and make people want to go to war.
Put another few words together and make them long for peace.
Words are so important ... they inform ...
so be careful how you use them,
because they carry power.

I found this graphic the other day while doing my weekly Whittle a Little.

I'd made it and kept it where I could see it to help me have courage during that hellish time. I seared it into my memory to steel me against the waves of vitriol.

I made it to remind myself that the words contained herein are the words that describe the reality of who I am and how I choose to enter the world. These are the people and characteristics I value.



Sure. Name-calling hurts. But I refuse to allow that spiteful language to do fatal damage, and be the closing words of my life story.