Just Words

Words have long since inspired man kind.  They have provided us comfort, expressed our emotions, lifted a wary soul, inspired faith not to mention spark the imagination, to only name a few.  A simple compliment, a few spoken words can leave a lasting impression and throughout history words have inspired men to fight for theirs and their countries honor.


                                        “Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind.” 
                                         ― Rudyard Kipling


Amazing how something we use nearly every min of every day can do so much isn't it?  You would think with such power we would be more selective with the words we speak or write.  If words can inspire so much would it not be our responsibility as human beings to choose the words that will help lift and inspire those around us?  One doesn't have to be Kipling or Dickens to inspire, tho I must say I always thought my words meaningless, after all I'm just me, not a great poet or author.  That changed recently.  I was laying in bed reading a story to my son, who is in kindergarten, and he surprised me by reading the next line in the story.  I was thrilled and turned to him my heart bursting with pride "I'm so proud of you" I told him.  Now I've said these words to him many many times before, but something about this moment made me watch his face as my words registered.  He became proud of himself just by me using those five simple words. His little face lite up and a big smile crossed his face.  He read the next line for me and the line after that.  How wonderful that I could say something, that was so easy to say, and have such a profound effect.

                                       Words are keys to the heart
                                        Chinese Proverb

I spent that night flipping through memories,  that had greatly effected me for the positive.  I thought of the day my mother told me how proud she was that I was her daughter,  I thought of my grandmother telling me not to be afraid that God was walking with us, and I remembered my grandfather kissing my shoulder and telling me he was proud of me, these tid bits of words spoken that burned their way into me and left their lasting impression.  I pondered some of the darker moments of my childhood,  and found words that left there impression there as well.  Angry words that seeped into the hidden places of myself and I began to believe.  Its funny, the good words lift us and can inspire us, but we allow the darker words a deeper place inside ourselves.  We let them fester till them become a cancer and we believe them.  I began to wonder why this was, why the hurtful words were so much easier to believe.  Maybe its because we secretly already believe these things about ourselves before they are said, maybe its because in this day and age the darker words come easier from our mouths then the ones that inspire.  We are all guilty at some point of saying something to someone that we wish we could take back, and we are all guilty of leaving words unsaid that should have been spoken.

                        Because even the smallest of words can be the ones to hurt you, or save you.” 
                             ― Natsuki Takaya

As you can tell I came up with no answers as to the whys, but I did gain a bit of knowledge for who I want to be and what I intend to strive for in the future.  I will never be Browning or Dickens (two of my favorites), chances are my words will not be read and celebrated for generations to come.  I will never give an amazing speech to inspire the masses, or speak words of such courage that men will march to war, but I CAN begin to make the world around me a little better.  I can compliment that stranger with the great shoes that I pass and leave them feeling good all day.  I can remind those around me that I love them each time we speak even if their own words don't always let them say it back.  I can remind my son of all the wonderful things he does, so some day when he reflects on his past there are more good words and then bad ones to look back on.  My words may never inspire the masses but they can still inspire.

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
Ephesians 4:29

Where Will Our History Go?

I was reading an article in Readers digest today, yes I read it and i'm under 50, about a woman who lost her mother but found her through the writings she left behind.  It was touching and a moving story and got me to thinking about my grandmother, my mother and my son.

In the article the woman found letters, journals, a whole family history while combing through her mothers things after her death.  She rediscovered the woman who raised her, the woman her mother was before she was a mother, the deep love her mother had for her father.  I can say that my mother, myself, and i'm sure other family members had these same type of revelations while helping to clean up my grandmothers things after her passing.  It was a gift from her in a time when I was hurting greatly, a chance to feel closer to her again from a few scraps of paper found here and there.  Journals kept, letters written, old cards that she kept and pictures I drew as a child reminded me that she loved me, and I her.

My mother is an avid writer, keeping journals and books of poetry and stories.  Hopefully the day is long off when I will have to collect her things and sort through them, but I know with a certainty I will receive the same gift my grandmother left for me.......words! Ink on paper, thoughts, feeling, the private things that make the people we love the people we love so much.  And tho alot of what I found about my grandmother was stuff I already knew, her words were something I could hold on to, it was like getting to keep a piece of her.

My thoughts soon led to my son.  Thankfully i'm an avid journaler as my mother is, but in this day and age its a dying trait.  We live in the land of Facebook and twitter.  A place where instead of carefully placing photos into albums we post them straight from our phones without the need to develop them.  When my day on this earth is done and my son is seeking the same comfort I got from finding my grandmothers words, what will he find?  Shall I leave him my passwords on a scrap of paper?  Shall he log into my face book to see the trivial things I posted on a daily bases, the games I played?  Will he seek solace in my little jokes and statuses?  Shall I leave him the combo to my phone so that he can see that I took daily snap shots of him because I love his beautiful little face?  Shall I leave him my email passwords so that he can see the countless emails I sent out to friends and family announcing his accomplishments and our pride in him? Will he know and remember the stories of how his father and I fell in love and how much we wanted a child?

Thankfully I've kept love letters from my husband, letters from my mother and grandmother from when I was younger and years worth of journals but how many of us can say the same?  What will we leave for our children to know us, to get comfort when their worlds no longer have us in it?  How will we let them know of our joys our struggles our losses the things that make us human.

Maybe......just maybe, as wonderful as this information age is, maybe there are some "old fashioned" things we should be fighting a little harder to keep.  Some how I don't think my son will gain the comfort i found in my computer.  So this year I think i'll journal more, maybe fill my journal with pictures of our summer, and I might actually send a letter to his grandmother................the old fashioned way!!!!!  Hes worth the effort, and part of being a mom is thinking about our children's future..........even when we're not here.