Words for every occasion

What we say and what we think can differ greatly. They can be greatly different, and they can also be different for great reasons...

Until recently I held the strong belief that honesty should be of highest importance. I struggled to live by this rule, being honest with others... and being honest with myself. It isn't always easy.

Lately I have had these ideas challenged as I have observed friends of mine making some difficult choices. The words they speak about their new adventures... all positive. Yet, I know that there must be a certain amount of dread and worry.

I don't like it when pain is ignored. I don't think it works to simply "put on a happy face".

But it is also true that our words act as a kind of foundation for the attitude we want to have, they can become the first steps to the path we follow.

On the other hand, I also know the great exorcising effect of words. Sometimes I choose to sing songs that affirm sentiments that are the very opposite of the choices I would make. I think I do this to remind myself that those dark thoughts are in me, that they are a part of my experience. And I sing them out to constrain them. In this case the words bind. Somehow by having them sung aloud they lose their power.

Often the hardest thing for me is to be aware of just what it is I'm saying...