Reader Friday-The Awesome Power of Words

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I borrowed some words from Steve Laube for today’s post.

His post is entitled The Power of a Single Word, and it captivated me immediately.

It made me think of all the times in my life when just one word either made a huge difference in the path I was on, or it didn’t because I dismissed it or I wasn’t paying attention.

Below are some excerpts from his post:

 

“According to various sources, there are about one million words in the English language. Approximately 750,000 of them are technical or scientific. That leaves us with 250,000 words with which to communicate. I doubt any of us know all of them or use them.

Interestingly, in his works, Shakespeare used about 29,000 different words, 12,000 of them only once. The King James Bible has 12,100 different individual words. In our normal life, we use only around 10,000 words to communicate our ideas, our emotions, and our understanding of truth.

You [we] are gifted with words, both spoken and written.

I find that when I’m angry, my vocabulary expands like a thesaurus; and I use that articulation like the sharp edge of a blade. Never to kill but to fillet. To carve enough pieces to leave my victim bloody and helpless. There is no pride in this skill. In fact, it is my greatest weakness. Nay, it is my greatest humiliation.

What if I–what if you–used that skill with words to bind wounds?
To give hope to the hopeless.
To give breath to the drowning.
To catch falling tears and turn them into refreshing joy.
To laugh a little, cry a little, love a lot, and pray even more.

You [we] are word warriors. Called to something unique and special.

Never let the machinations of this publishing industry cause you to deviate from your calling. Never.”

* * *

Thank you for allowing me to share your words today, Mr. Laube.

TKZers, can you think of one word, just one, in your past which made a difference–either positive or negative–to you?

For me–amongst many others–the word TRY stands out in my memory.

Comments welcome.

 

27 thoughts on “Reader Friday-The Awesome Power of Words”

    • Good morning, Sue.

      Forgiveness. IMHO, one of the most powerful and necessary words in the history of humanity. As I wrote that sentence, I tried to envision life on earth without the word/concept.

      I couldn’t.

      Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend. 🙂

  2. Ugly.

    I was in elementary school, on the playground, when a “big kid” walked by me and said in passing, “You’re ugly.” At the time, with freckles and self doubt, it hit me hard and deep. It stayed with me for years. The fact that I can see the scene vividly still, the kid’s face and voice, is testimony to the power of a single word.

    • Good Friday morning, JSB!

      Elementary school. One of the roughest, toughest training grounds for life on earth. I wonder if those types of people, who sling words around like Stinger missiles, have ever had to catch one themselves.

      I remember a certain group of girls in middle school, who, shall we say, let me know over and over again and in various ways that I did not meet their rigorous criteria for inclusion into their so-called “group”. It hurt. My parents used to say “Move on, Deb, they’re not worth the ground you walk on.” It helped a little, but didn’t make it easier to hear them giggling as I walked by them. Glad those days are over.

      Have a great Friday…

    • Hi Dale…

      Important word for sure. I had exactly 3 girlfriends in high school, and without them, my experience would’ve been so different. I hope I made a difference to them, too.

      Have a great day, Friend!

  4. I am going to give you two, sorry.

    Positive – Next What is next? Where do we go from here?

    Negative – Jew Drove my family from Europe to America. Prevented employment. Why there are guards around my child’s workplace. Why saying the wrong thing near that building brings the police and private security. Why Susan has a funny bulge under her flowing animal print shirts.

    • Hi Alan…

      Next is a great word! Keeps me putting one foot in front of the other.

      Your second word…are you saying it’s “why”?

      Why there are guards around my child’s workplace. Why saying the wrong thing near that building brings the police and private security.

      Alan, I can’t imagine. Thanks for sharing this morning–hope you have a great weekend…

      • I know why. Because there are people who wish to do me harm. Because of who I am, in a few hours I will wish a good shabbas to a security guard. It is why there is a Klan meeting about two hours from my house tomorrow.

        • Alan, I wish I knew the right response. The only thing that comes to my mind is this: while there are those who wish you harm because of who you are, there are millions who don’t and wish the best for you and yours.

          I’m one of them.

          Thank you for your transparency, and again, I hope you have a good weekend…

  5. Computers.

    When I was growing up, I always assumed I would teach math in high school. I did my student teaching in math the last semester of college. At the end of the semester, my advising teacher asked how I liked it. I told her I loved teaching, but I didn’t think I could spend the rest of my life teaching the same subjects of Algebra and Geometry over and over again.

    Fortunately, my advisor was a very wise woman. She told me she had observed my talent for problem solving and she thought I’d do well in the very new field of computer programming. I knew nothing about computers, but she suggested I talk to someone at IBM. I did. They hired me and sent me to work on the National Air Traffic Control Project as a programmer.

    I had been handed the gift of a profession I was born for, and it all came about from a short conversation with a caring and wise woman.

  6. I’m small and female so I learned how to skewer people with words that wouldn’t hit until I was well out of range. If I heard, “Wait, what?” I moved away a little faster. Only fools exchange words with a professional writer.

    My word is “Kindness” with a side order of humor.

    • Hi Marilyn!

      I hear you about being small and female. One of the loathsome nicknames I enjoyed in school was “short stack”. My Dad called me that, but he’d earned the privilege. The kids? Not so much.

      If you’re ordering Kindness with a side of Humor, make it two… 🙂

      Have a good weekend!

  7. Possibilities. Because there is always more than one door or window open. More than one way to view a problem. More than one path to explore when it’s time to make a decision. That’s what makes possibilities so exciting.

    • Ooh…Suzanne, I like that word!

      Because there is always more than one door or window open.

      That reminds me of the line in Sound of Music . . . “When God closes a door, somewhere He opens a window.” (I think I got that right…)

      Thanks for the reminder that even at my *ahem* age, possibilities abound. Have a good one!

  8. I think the most important word depends on the situation. If you are on the operating room table about to bleed to death, the word hemostat is a good one to hear your doctor say,

    Just sayin’

  9. Grandchild.

    Our lives have just been changed in a way I thought would not happen.

    We have three children, and we had them late (I was 42 when the last one was born).

    None of them had reproduced, and at 75 (husband is 77), I figured it was just the way it was going to be.

    And then middle son and lovely wife had a baby girl a month ago, and I experienced all the worries and hopes during the waiting time, and the joy since (even though we’ve only met her by Zoom), and the very real and very scary sense you have about leaving the world we haven’t managed to ‘fix’ to an innocent child.

    There was always the unbroken line between me and the first humans – and now it has been extended two more generations instead of ending.

    Gives one pause.

    • Oh, Alicia! ❤️❤️❤️

      I love your word the best of all. What a gift.

      Thank you thank you thank you for sharing your word, and your story.

      Have a great weekend!

      🙃

      • Thanks!

        Definitely life-altering – and the most beautiful granddaughter ever, of course.

        The best part: the couple are about the same age as when we had him, and the look on his (and hers – she’s lovely) face makes my heart go all squiggy.

        They gave us a digital photo frame and post updates almost daily. We’ll figure out a way to go. And I’ll probably end up reading Goodnight Moon on video.

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