The sun sets on another day…
Clouds began to split and returned with a vengeance. Still, sunset was a series of cascading reds on the clouds, and peacefully powerful as the wind ravaged the countryside.
I thought a lot today about words. There is an old poem:
Sticks and stones can break my bones, aimed with angry art. Words can sting like anything but silence breaks the heart.
(and a short one from Gilligan on Gilligan’s island)
Sticks and stones can break my bones, but please, don’t throw sticks and stones.
The second I added for no particular reason but the first has a little umph to it. It defines that the physical can hurt us all, the mental can hurt us all, and we can hurt ourselves with the edge of silence. I wrote just a few days ago about pauses and how people have become so sensitized to a pause that they fill in the blanks with all sorts of stuff just because there is not an immediate response. I wanted today to note that it is true, but words can sting “like anything” as well.
There are people all the time using words to get their point across and weaponizing those words in horrible ways. On this day and every day I merely suggest, that maybe we don’t need to attack each other. Maybe, just maybe, the solution is to be nice, and perhaps people will fall along and be nice as well. Who knows, but it is worth a try. If all else fails, throwing sticks and stones will quickly make us stop, simply because the pain is physical.
So as the sun sets on another day, the world is full of chaos right now. Be the center that starts bringing back the good. Be the center that helps people understand that words are not the way, be the center, and have a good night, no matter what.
Sleep sweet, love life, and be be happy…