Speak No Evil

When I was a child I was taught the saying ‘sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me’. At the time I saw the sense of it. Words being intangible have no ability to inflict physical harm. Whenever anybody said something mean to me, I would loudly recite the saying to them, using it like a magical incantation that would protect me from getting my feelings hurt. I usually said it with tears running down my cheeks. As an adult I’ve come to see that the saying is like many things taught to children, a lie. Over the years I’ve taken a lot of verbal abuse. Now while it hasn’t driven me to the extent of seeking professional help (yet!) it really darkens my day when I think about some of the times I’ve been on the receiving end of a barbed tongue. Luckily for my tormentors, I’ve never really been good with nasty comebacks – ‘I’m rubber and you are glue’ never seemed to have the desired effect. Thats not to say that I’m an angel. I know I’ve dealt out my fair share of hurt. What makes it worse is the knowledge that the people I’ve hurt the most are the ones who deserve it the least. I am extremely apologetic but I don’t have the wisdom or the ability to right the wrongs i have done. So tonight I say a little prayer for each person who has ever shed a tear due to a thoughtless word. And for those who’d get a laugh out of seeing someone else cringe, try to keep it down guys. The world’s a crazy enough place to grow up in.