Words

A gift from God. A powerful tool. The beginning of love. An abused privilege.  The beginning of fights. The destroyer of trust. The ink we dip our pens into. The paint of speech. Words.

   

~ Kesheena

Words. The beginning of comprehension. They're the basis of communication among mankind. A talent taught to the youngest of babes from the beginning of life. A powerful tool that, when used correctly enhances our existence yet, is capable of destroying our emotional balance when not. An ability that we often misuse and abuse. Words begin to bombard us the minute we become conscious in the morning. The only reprieve we have from them is when slip into the blissful, unconsciousness of sleep in the night. Even then words continue to permeate our subconscious mind. There is no escaping them. 

Many of us don't realize what power we have within us. The words we use may affect people in ways we aren't even aware of. Words of praise lavished upon a struggling individual may be the beginning of renewed determination. Compliments paid in passing; the start of self-confidence. Wise words become proverbs passed from one generation to the next. Uplifting conversations become song inspirations. A phrase spoken just so leads a poet to write. A lesson planned carefully educates. Words of endearment build solid relationships. Words are tools; building, encouraging, changing. Using speech to paint upon the canvas of life is power that, when mixed evenly, yields an image of beauty untarnished.

I'm sure we've all seen graffiti on passing trains that looked amazing. You probably even secretly wished that you were capable of such art. Most of us don't consider the destruction of property or vandalism aspect of graffiti. It is simply art in our eyes; talent. It's the same with words. Many times we speak words that destroy and vandalize the lives of our colleagues. Any time the words we speak are not uplifting we are painting graffiti on the mind of the hearer. Gossip, coarse jokes, the flippant degrading. We've all done it before and probably will again. Unfortunately, most of us are not the artist of great talent that we hope to be. We forget to use smooth, clean strokes of conversation. We tend to leave our work space cluttered. Messy. Consequently, we are continuously tripping and tipping over gallons of paint; inadvertently soaking our canvas with words that we didn't mean to spill. Instead of a masterpiece, we are left with irreparable images and irretrievable words. What a mess.

Words that are not used correctly lead to damage and destruction. The human emotions are like fabric. Frequently, words that we don't mean are splattered onto that fabric; staining them. We are authors writing constantly writing chapters in the parchment of the people around us. We need to remember not to write anything that is not worth reading. Don't draft a tabloid of untruth and hurtful words. Some inks fade over a long period of time but more often they leave a permanent stain. Of course it's not just your words, but your words coupled with the next persons may stain a fabric so that it doesn't seem salvageable. As a result, people often take drastic measures that ruin their lives in attempts to remove these stains. Yet, no amount of scrubbing can retract the word already spoken. You will only leave a hole in the fabric further ensuring that it isn't fit to wear. Fortunately, there is One who can wash all of our mistakes and make the garments new.

Before reading this, you probably never considered yourself an artist or author. Yet that is exactly what you are. Your lips are the paintbrushes that spread words. Your words are the ink you dip your pen into. Remember that in this life we are to be a reflection of the One who created us. All our works should be made to please him. So be careful with the paints that you are given. Use the colors only to enhance the image that He has already created. Leave your autograph only with ink that reflect His majesty. Words are your power. Use them wisely.