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Words have Weight

by Sarah Gould

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I love words. I started using words very early (both in spoken and written language). I have always used words. I read books about words. I make up my own words. I have a degree in (foreign) words. I love words.

Words give language their power and its potential to hurt or heal us. Everyone can remember a time (sometimes even years ago) when someone said something to you that hurt or picked you up more than anything else. Words stick with us! I remember the first true compliment I ever got … it was from a teacher in grade school who told me that I had “the most beautiful single-dimple I’ve ever seen.� Thinking back on it, it might be creepy, but it’s stuck with me all my life. When I feel ugly, I can think about this teacher’s words and they help to heal my own personal hurt. The words my ex-husband used to tell me that he was leaving me “you’re not worth taking care of� will also stick with me forever. When people talk about taking care of one another, those words are immediately what come to mind. Words can hurt and words can heal. What we say has weight.

The more aware we are of the fact that words have weight, the more we can deepen our relationship to those words. We can use this relationship to create feeling and emotional meaning with those words. Words are no longer an abstract & disconnected grouping of letters mashed together; they are powerful transmitters of feeling. I have a suggestion for you to help you recognize this. For the next few days, notice how words are affecting your body & your mental & emotional health. Notice how you can have different types of communication styles with the people in your lie. Notice how your own words come out and how other people around you react to them.

When you speak quickly, do your words have less meaning behind them? Are they less powerful? If you take your time, think about what you want to say, and listen to ourselves before you speak, do your words have more meaning and are they more powerful? If we can carefully think about what we say, we may be able to “harness the power of speech.� Allow your words to be able couriers of both therapeutic strength and radiance. Allow them to routinely transmit deep and positive feelings towards both the sender and the receiver.

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Posted in Attitudes, Change, Emotions, Personal on May 11th, 2007

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Explore mental and emotional health issues including mood disorders, depression, anxiety and anger problems. We’ll also keep up with the latest scientific research on developments related to mental health. Stress, physical illnesses and pain can trigger negative feelings and despair but we’ll focus on how to cope through those difficult times.

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