As a reader that loves to write I have an ongoing love affair with words. Our language is just chocked full of words with which to express oneself plainly and succinctly. My Honey tells me Spanish has much more to offer when choosing how to express an idea or concept and sounds much prettier in the process.
Some words and phrases do tickle the ear more than others. I suppose what delights the ear of one may fall like lead to another. For example I refer to the community we live in as our village; the sentimental moniker given by Donovan, our grandson. To me, village sounds more pleasant than subdivision. It conjures up visions of quaint abodes, winding streets, garden gates and people strolling by. Subdivision brings to mind a large piece of paper with lines crisscrossing one another to delineate one plot from another; numbers and straight lines. That’s how it comes across to me anyway. Words and their appeal or lack there of do affect us emotionally whether we realize it at the time or not. Our street name was Valley View (lovely) before the county dictated county roads have number names. Living on Valley View sounds better than living on 4511, does it not?
Regardless of how they sound, our words should ring true every time they leave our mouths. Some people love to play words games; I’m not referring to Scrabble but to toying with words to infer something more pointed and perhaps unkind but said with words just benign enough to claim innocence. Veiled ugliness is still ugliness, People. There are those that use words to pierce another’s emotional jugular vein and walk away feeling powerful and clever for having done so. Flattering words of praise are empty and tinny if not sincere. Yet, when one shares from the heart words of love, concern, appreciation, etc…words can be a healing salve that sooths even the most fevered of us.
The words we use, the tone the words are spoken in or the context in which written combine to reflect the person’s inner self. The Bible says so.
Luke 6:45 (New Living Translation) A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.
Our words should be our bond people are able to count on. Once when dealing with someone that did not do as she said she would, I was sad to hear her say, “Well, I didn’t promise.” Sadly, she thought she should not be held accountable unless she promised. This same person, however, would be aghast when you did not believe what she told you at other times. Her word was not reliable and lost all meaning in the process. She said what she thought you wanted to hear at the time of commitment but her words fell to the floor as they came out of her mouth….if she only understood what that said about her heart!
In conclusion let me sum it up…Say what you mean and mean what you say; God knows your heart anyway!
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