honey

Yesterday, in response to a comment I made, someone teasingly reacted by calling me a name - a biting, awful name. It's ironic because I honestly couldn't be anything further from all this word represents. Nonetheless, it was spoken.

Ordinarily, I'd simply call this person on his insolence, then allow his words to roll off of me as quickly as they came. Yet today, in spite of the frivolity and jest with which this word was delivered, and further, its absurdity when attached to me, its bite continues to sting. Today, I feel hurt. IN SPITE of intentions that meant me no harm, the heartfelt apology that followed and the fact that there is neither substance nor truth to what was said, a piece of my spirit is wounded.

Today, in a day and a country privileged with the blessing of free speech, in an era of countless published authors (aka bloggers), in the wake of the Don Imus debacle, and to every single one of us who may not have impudently vomited harmful, hateful words all over public radio, but have carelessly spoken (or thought) the same poison for which this man is guilty, I must say - I MUST SCREAM - that OUR WORDS HAVE POWER!

Yes, within each of us is also the power to receive or to dismiss anything that is put into the universe. INDEED. Nevertheless, I refuse to accept this as an excuse for imprudent speech. Regardless of our "intentions," WE MUST BE RESPONSIBLE. I am sick of the apologies - getting them and giving them. Frankly, it is not enough to apologize after the fact. We must be accountable for our words BEFORE they proceed from our mouths. Much more importantly, we must begin to be accountable for our thoughts and the intentions of our hearts that manifest themselves into cutting words we may later regret.

It takes neither competence nor creativity, imagination nor ingenuity to negligently drop f-bombs around (for my little kids to pick up), then dismiss them as innocuous "means of expression." GIVE ME A BREAK! Why do we continue to poison our communities and ourselves with colorless speech and even worse, unbridled thought?

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.

Perhaps it is naive of me, but I believe our time and resource are better spent not only thinking, but speaking those things which are noble, true, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, edifying and worthy of praise. In the Good Book, a wise man wrote:

"Pleasant words are a honeycomb,
sweet to the soul and healing to the bones."

INDEED! May my words be as well.