sticks and stones and words

Why are some people so mean and thoughtless?

Why am I at times? Why do we say things so unkind? Why do we use words like retarded and stupid?  Hey, I’ve done it, too when I haven’t had the good sense to think before I speak.

Words by themselves are fairly neutral but we all know how we feel when we’ve been the recipient of a word used in a derogatory manner. Retarded is a perfectly good word if we’re referencing something other than a person. Many times we don’t mean our words to suggest anything other than what they literally mean. We’re not intending to hurt.  But words do hurt. It’s absolutely ridiculous to think that “Sticks and stones may bring my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Who coined that ridiculous phrase anyway?


Our culture has deteriorated rapidly in this regard.  Watch any reality show and you’ll see what I mean.”Mean” words are anywhere and people are laughing! Are you kidding me? What has happened to our sense of humor that we think making fun of someone or calling them names is even remotely funny?

Let’s be very careful how we choose our words.  Next to our actions, our words say a lot about us and determine our own moods.We simply cannot say cruel things to others without it hurting us as well.  I always feel a little sorry(after I get over my mad) for someone who can’t control their speech because I know they are not happy people inside. How do I know that? Because…….

Happy people use life-affirming words.

If you’re dealing with depression you, of all people, need to use life-affirming words. We hear words whether spoken by us or not.  We can’t close our ears to what we say anymore than we can what anyone else says. Even if our hurtful words are spoken to someone else, the negative atmosphere surrounding them surrounds us as well and dampens our mood. If depressed people monitored their own words, they would feel very differently. Think about that the next time you use harsh words to describe a person, an event, etc. Re-word your thoughts and see if speaking them more kindly doesn’t affect your mood in a more positive way.