You've probably heard the old rhyme, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me." It's a child's retort to a generic insult, basically saying, "I don't care what you say about me, why don't you back it up with action!"
I think the exact opposite is true. "Words may break my bones, but sticks and stones will never hurt me." I've been around a lot of sticks and stones, and they've never spontaneously attacked me. Even if someone attacks me with sticks or stones, it's not the weapons, but the attacker who is the real source of the pain. And the attacker's actions are based on thoughts, which are just words in his head. So, even if someone attacks me with sticks and stones, words (maybe spoken aloud, or maybe just thought silently) bear the actual responsibility.
Words create belief, belief changes who we are. Words are powerful. They change people, they change nations. Sticks and stones? In this modern age, sticks and stones are not so scary.
(This article is shorter than the articles I usually write. I'm experimenting with shorter articles, in part to explore and fight perfectionism in myself.)
Here are some articles I wrote. They're full of words, but I promise they won't hurt you.
"Problems" In Mathematics
10 Reasons Why English Is A Hard Language
Will The Languages Of The World Ever Merge?
I think the exact opposite is true. "Words may break my bones, but sticks and stones will never hurt me." I've been around a lot of sticks and stones, and they've never spontaneously attacked me. Even if someone attacks me with sticks or stones, it's not the weapons, but the attacker who is the real source of the pain. And the attacker's actions are based on thoughts, which are just words in his head. So, even if someone attacks me with sticks and stones, words (maybe spoken aloud, or maybe just thought silently) bear the actual responsibility.
Words create belief, belief changes who we are. Words are powerful. They change people, they change nations. Sticks and stones? In this modern age, sticks and stones are not so scary.
(This article is shorter than the articles I usually write. I'm experimenting with shorter articles, in part to explore and fight perfectionism in myself.)
Here are some articles I wrote. They're full of words, but I promise they won't hurt you.
"Problems" In Mathematics
10 Reasons Why English Is A Hard Language
Will The Languages Of The World Ever Merge?
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1 comments:
I've never known you to actually be affected by words. But maybe this in itself is a source of change.
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