Power and Benefits of Positive Thoughts

I remember this little chant from my childhood, 'Sticks and stones will break my bones but words can never hurt me'.

In theory, this holds true, but it is challenging to remember and live by these words if someone is saying ignorant things to you, or perhaps simply stating things you do not want to hear.

We each have a responsibility to one another to evoke the power of positive thoughts and to use posiitve words in our communications with one another.

The power of positive thought coupled with good words. An amazing concept to strive for.

We each have a responsibility to speak respectfully to those we interact with, regardless of circumstance. If someone barks at us, throws insults our way, or perhaps gives us the cold shoulder, this does not give us the right to treat that person the same way.

Ignorance does not excuse ignorance.

We do not have the right to respond by barking back, using insulting words or giving that person the silent treatment. We have a responsibility to put on our grown up pants and respond, using compassion and understanding. Another option is to simply not engage in the exchange, walk away until the other person calms down.

When we respond by raising our voices or use profanity, we lose our power.

I know this first hand because I have spent many a day feeling powerless and impotent after engaging my mouth and speaking before I think.

For some people, being kind, being happy, seems to come naturally. They make it seem easy. There are a few people I know that seem to let the trials and tribulations of life roll off their backs. These people appear to often be engaged in productive activities. They have a large circle of friends. They volunteer in their communities at soup kitchens, old folks homes, beach and roadside clean ups etc;

No one really knows what lurks beneath the surface of most souls but for some anyway, they exude what appears to be genuine happiness, contentment. They are at peace with their surroundings and their lot in life.

For others, discontent, impatience and anger are simmering just below the surface. Simmering and stewing, just waiting for someone to piss them off so they have a reason to react and let loose some of the angst they are feeling. Share the misery, blame someone or something external to themselves, for their unhappiness.

Then there are those that appear to have and use a balanced mix of all emotions available to us. I envy those people.

I can't find any reasonable explanation for these wildly differing personalities.

I have friends that have experienced extremely rugged events in their pasts. Drug addiction, abuse, neglect, poverty. I also know people that have been brought up with compassion, understanding, love, nurtured by loving caregivers. I see an equal distribution of kindness and ignorance in both groups, with no rhyme or reason given to life circumstance.

I am beginning to believe it is simply a cosmic coin flip that determines the path our personalities take. This flip of a coin determines whether we are happy, sad, mad, glad, content, angry, loving and lovable. This is my personal and simplistic explanation.

I believe, once we reach adulthood, that we have a responsibility to ourselves and our fellow humans to learn to use our words in an assertive and kind way. Nothing positive will be gained by yelling, screaming, using demeaning or sarcastic words.

I once read that sarcasm is the wit of a fool. Very true words. I spent many years suffering with the wit of a fool. I still use sarcasm but I have greatly tempered it over the years. I actually do think before I speak, sometimes. One of my sisters is very sarcastic. Some of the comments she makes are very funny, depending on one's sense of humor, but none-the-less, very sarcastic. She would often add the disclaimer,' Did I say that out loud?', to the end of a particularly cutting remark. I frequently laughed at some of the things she dared utter but I was uncomfortable if I was the target the remark was directed at.

Words in and of themselves, do not have power. It is how and when we use these words that determines the gist of the meaning, the message we are attempting to deliver.

There is a word in the English language that starts with C and ends with T. There are two letters in the middle. The word rhymes with bunt. it is a word that is often delivered in a derogatory way and appears to have an extremely negative effect on some humans, mostly women. I am not offended by this word. I would use it on these pages instead of dodging around it, except to do so may contribute to my writing being flagged as inappropriate.

I have had this word hurled in my direction more than once. The word itself doesn't carry weight, it is the delivery that empowers the punch. Words are just that, words. We can choose how we are going to let words affect us at any given time. I think it is an honor to be called a c--t, but I don't think it does much for one's feeling of self worth if it is strung together with a bunch of other socially unacceptable words.

At the end of the day though, like all the rest, it is simply a word.

We get to choose, on a regular basis, what we are going to allow to offend us.

Use your words in a good way, every day, if you are evolved enough to be able to do so.

Words are all we have. Words have the power to make, or break, someone's day.

Let's practise using our words kindly and wisely.