Yes...Words are Free...but...

Thought and Poem – March 16, 2015

Right from the moment we learned to speak, for many of us we are determined to be heard. When we were toddlers, we might have added a little tantrum to enhance we meant business, when we were teenagers, we may have rebelled and used our ugly words to express our dislikes, when we moved out on our own, we were now free to use whatever words we wanted that we may not have felt free to say in front of our parents.

Even though words are free and we have zillions of dictionaries all over the world full of words we can pick to use but what some people may not realize is…words are used at a cost. Many times we might focus on the fact that we CAN use the words we want and say what we want but we may not always like the consequences because of the freedom of using our choice words when we speak to others.

Many of us have tried to change the way we speak so that others do not take what we say in a bad way or think we are being abusive. One way I have found that helps me is to make a list of words I can interchange when I need to find a softer/less intrusive ways of speaking. After I have made my list, I look at it from time to time to see if I have not forgotten words I should be using or if I need to make a new list with words that I might have to adjust?

Often people remember us by the way we speak…and how we interact with them and it is important for many of us to impress on the minds of those we meet that they would want to be with us again someday.

What about you? What do you do to remind yourself to speak in a way that you can be heard and that others will want to hear what you have to say? Share your thoughts with us…Jeanne Claire Probst

Yes…Words are Free…But…

Words are free
We use them to describe what we do and see,
But they are used at a cost
When they are not used to build others up…at some point we will feel a loss.

Once these words are formed in our hearts and leave our mouths,
We can’t retrieve them or control how people think what we might be talking about.
All will understand our words in each their own ways,
So be careful how you use your words today.

Think before you speak…
So that peace we may keep…
Be mindful of the tone you use…
So that unmeaning-full words do not abuse.

If you received a penny for every good thought you presented,
For all the goodness your words intended,
How rich you would be if you added all the pennies up?
Would your piggy-bank be empty of pennies and have gone…bankrupt?

Jeanne Claire Probst