Let's close our eyes.
We are so often affected by words.
We are so often affected by words.
Someone said something either verbally or in writing.
It has the power to rattle us.
We are so often affected by words.
Words can be very powerful.
And if used to cause hurt,
They can hurt pretty bad.
But words can also be used to uplift,
To answer questions,
To tell a story,
To show hope,
To show love and care.
But if we look closely at these words,
We don't have to go too far right now.
We all can hear my words.
I can hear the words coming from my mouth.
So if we look closely at the words,
Their existence is only between them being uttered and them being heard.
And that too,
There is a lot of gap between two words and two sentences.
So what is it about these words that can hurt us or uplift us?
They are so ephemeral.
And if we try to touch them right now,
We can do a little experiment with the hands of your mind.
Try to touch the words that are being heard and see if you can find any sharpness that could hurt you.
Trying to touch these words makes us realize how transparent they are.
Even more transparent than trying to touch and grab water.
At least leaves your hand wet.
But these words leave no trace by themselves.
Unless we look at words with a different angle,
With a different perspective.
What if these words are just carriers?
Carrying Meaning Emotions Care That's why these words that are being heard right now by themselves,
They are meaningless.
But they are carrying something which is coming from a source deep within me and reaching you deep within you.
With the speed of the words,
The order of the words,
The language,
The way it is said,
All these things help reach an understanding deep within you.
The shell of the words fall apart right away.
But the message goes deep within and could stay there forever.
The place from where the words originate and the place where these words reach is a place which is beyond words.
It does not deal in wrappers.
It deals in the meaning and understanding.
That's why a lot of stand-up comedians have play on words where they use words to say something but mean completely different thing.
So it is a very complicated art form.
But it is an exchange of emotions,
Understanding,
Meaning,
Connecting deeper parts of me with deeper parts of you.
That's why,
If misused,
It feels that words can cause a lot more harm than actual weapons because it goes directly to the deepest part in us or deeper parts in us.
Don't get me wrong.
Using the words in the right cadence,
In the right sequence,
With the right tone,
All this matters in communicating the right meaning to the other person.
But what matters the most is where are these words originating from?
Are they originating from love,
Care,
Friendship,
Well-being?
Or are they originating from malice,
Judgment,
Aggression?
Because if they originate from aggression but they are wrapped in polite words,
They don't communicate politeness.
You know it and the person who receives it knows it.
So we can be very conscious about the words we use and even more conscious about the message that we are trying to communicate,
The emotion that we are trying to communicate because we are dealing with deeper parts of our friends,
Family,
Co-workers.
Just like we can feel the discrepancy between the words and their message,
Others can feel it too.
But once we understand the mechanics of how communication happens,
We can have a little more agency on our side of the communication by being a little more thoughtful,
Empathetic,
Kind,
A little more sophisticated in our words,
Skillful,
So that we don't harm anyone else with our words.
Thank you.
