Words

Sometimes words that you say to someone may take on a whole different meaning than what you meant for them to mean. A lot of times we think we are doing someone a favor with the things we say to them, and those words may hit a “nerve” or even bring back some memories of something that happened a long time ago in that person’s life. I’ve learned that we never know what is going on in someone else’s mind. We don’t know some of the experiences they have gone through. We don’t know what their inward battles are. The mind is a tricky thing. We allow all sorts of negative thoughts creep in, and we begin to analyze something that someone said to us. Our life experiences and choices that we make determine who we are today. Sometimes those choices are bad choices, but at least we didn’t just stand there and make no choice at all. I read something that said, no one can take your happiness away from you—unless you let them. How many times have I let someone take my happiness away from me? I can’t begin to tell you that number. And why did I let that happen? I think a lot of times, I am in agreement with what they have said to me. Do I want to be miserable and unhappy? I say that I don’t, but instead I wallow in my misery and unhappiness until I decide to pick myself up, shake off my boots, and decide that I’m not giving up my happiness for some remark that really didn’t mean anything. Words—we need to be so careful with what we say. You may never know the effect you had on someone in a negative way. We need to use our words to encourage each other. We need to tell those closest to us that we love them. I got a note from my daughter today that only said, I love you! That really meant a lot to me. I’ve already told her that starting March 1 will be the countdown for me again. I know it may sound crazy, but I think back to how I could have done things differently three years ago. What if you knew that someone close to you would only be here for a few more days? What would you do differently? What are the things that you would say to that person? Take a risk and reach out to someone and tell them how much you care about them. It could mean everything to them. DR 2/28/13