Words. [updated 012110]

I don't think i've ever mentioned to you the way i feel about Words. I mean, we've all heard the saying, "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me". It's like a confidence boost you feed to kids when they are verbally abused. Then they still end up crying.

HAH. Either that or the next day you get a phonecall from the school nurse saying that your kid just got in a fight because they didn't know how else to handle verbal abuse. Sheesh. Seriously?

Truth is, to certain people, (and in certain situations), words can be hurtful. i guess we can start by telling our kids that words can possibly hurt .. BUT.... [insert your own motherly reassurance that everything will be alright].

another option is you can always ignore them.....

that would be the more "mature" thing to do, however it can also have some unintentional backfiring results. =T

But we're not kids anymore.

exactly. it's not just How we say it, but it's also What we say. sometimes the things that come out of our mouths involve 1, 2, or 3 more people in it, therefore resulting in more fingers pointed..
it's like our mouths shape the image of another person. like rumors, "He said that she said that her neighbor said..." that would be considered as direct gossip.

Or, there could be the less obvious. For instance, say everybody knows you two are "talking". They ask, "How was your day?" and you reply as if cupid shot you, "Splendid." ending with a huge cheesy smile on your face. that would be a positive compliment [?] towards the one you are talking to. however, if you said "Irritated." then the other person's image [and possibly yours] would be greatly affected in a negative connotation. I think you're starting to get the picture..

you know [and i'm sure from your own experiences] that we all make judgements/assumptions/labels based on the words we hear/see. it's just what we've been trained to do since birth.. if you hear the word blue, you point to the color blue. if you hear that he got in a fight, the next day do you find yourself keeping a safe distance from that person?

for the Smart-Asses, words are the most versatile form of manipulation. [some might need a little visual to boost the affect on others]

for the people in Need, words are tools to get what they want."blah blah blah, i want this, i want that, i never asked for that, if i do this for you, can you get me this? blah blah blah"

words can be used as hints, or even used to be blunt. either way works, but hints take a lot more thought. you'd have to reach in to your abstract-thinking abilities to make connections with the words given in a phrase. for instance,

"i'm bored. what are you doing" = pick me up/ let's hang out/ i randomly picked you coz i had nothing better to do
"Brr it's cold" = close the effin window.
"i never knew you sang!" = i think i like you!
or "my food tastes disgusting." = get me a new plate / i hate this date / this isn't what i ordered.

Ahhhh... the many affects words can have on us. Sometimes the junction between mind and spoken word [not the hiphop kind] flow so quick, that your consciousness has no intervention. like spilling the beans; you forgot to reconsider if that was the right or wrong thing to say.. coz now.. it's too late. you said it already. you're in deep shit.
WOOPS.

i guess basically what i'm trying to say is just Watch what you Say. What comes out our mouths is what defines us. Our actions do too, but that's a whole 'nother blog.

what if we can't show ourselves in any other form? what about the people who only have words to communicate?
sure, the dictionary is constantly expanding, but theres only so many ways you can say a certain emotion.

happy/glad/joyous/blissful
sad/depressed/sullen/low
excited/!/woopee!/omg!
i miss you/i want you/ i l--- you/ i need you.

if words are all you got; you wouldn't want to abuse the true meaning behind the words you say.. so change it up a bit [invest in a thesaurus?] or it's best to talk in-person. nothing beats one-on-one interaction. ;] the only exception is if you know the other person enough, words are merely reminders of the true emotion inside.. which then you'd have to rely on belief, possibly faith, to keep it true.

this is a weird blog i dont even know if i make sense but it's been on my mind lately that words can really have an affect on others. take thought before you speak. =T