Words

“Words, so innocent and powerless…when standing in a dictionary, how potent for good or evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them.”
Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) American Novelist
Words hold incredible sway over the human soul and heart. Some say actions speak louder than words, but there are words that make the heart soar, or break it into a million unidentifiable pieces. They can help us convey the ideas and thoughts of our minds, or lead us to experience great humiliation from misuse. A few precious and simple words whispered at the right moment can be the foundation of some our most deep and defining relationships, while they can also push away and trap those who use to mean so much to us. The absence of words can also have an incredible impact. When you just know the world will be ok once again if you simply hear those few words, but if they are omitted or simply forgotten, you become filled with a disappointment that reaches your core and you begin to lose hope of ever hearing those words again. Sometimes it doesn't even matter what the words say, as long as they exist. You can spend weeks fretting and being anxious, but the moment you hold a piece of paper with his words scribbled all over it, your heart suddenly feels ok again. It's kind of silly when you think about it. They're just words. So much of our happiness shouldn't be contingent on whether they are present or absent. But realizing this, I hope I can say the words that need to be heard, and keep back the ones that should remain unspoken, and thank those precious few in my life that know the power of words and how to speak to my heart to keep it pumping and loving and producing angsty but meaningful (to me) blog posts.