Words, from the simplest single letter word to the page's long ones, have power beyond what their size would indicate. Words can bring tears to the eye, evoke the majesty of a Redwood Forest. They can also calm a tortured soul
Words are beautiful when used with love, and compassion; they can wrap a person's heart and soul in a cocoon of warm and fuzzy feelings.
However, words used wrongly or maliciously can act as daggers to the soul. A misused word, or the wrong tone can wreck a person's psyche.
Words can also be used as weapons, that wrongly or rightly can destroy a person's career or future.
Is it the words themselves or is it the intent and meaning behind them? Words by themselves are simply letters on a page, not weapons, or gifts. It is the intent, the context, and the tone that gives them power.
Words can paint wonderful pictures when used by a wordsmith, they can describe a sunrise or sunset so visibly that all can picture it. The golden rays of the sinking sun turned the clouds into a kaleidoscope of colours beyond belief. Shades of gold and orange at first; then as the cerulean sky began to darken shades of blues, purples and mauve danced across the horizon.
They can also be used to evoke memories that are a bit darker. It was a dark and stormy night; the wind was howling through the trees. Their branches lashed against the house and tried to entangle passerby's in their grip.
The power of words is not in themselves, rather it is the mind and desire of the person using them. Words of themselves are neither good nor evil, it is how they are used that makes all the difference.
Words can be the doorway to the soul, they can also give you insight into the mind and character of those that use them.
They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, yet words used properly can create a thousand pictures in the minds of those reading them. Words can inspire love; they can convey the glee of a child's exploration. They can slay the dragon with iridescent scales of unimaginable hues of blue; however, they can also be used to slay the soul of a loved one.
Words need to be used carefully, and thoughtfully; words are as powerful as the imagination behind them. So, please use words with care, and forethought; but above all use them with love and caring.
These words woke me up in the middle of the night, I hope they make sense.
Thanks to YM for her comments and suggestions, this is a better piece thanks to her.
As always I would love to hear your thoughts on my words The Story Lover
I would say that Story Lover has handled the words above very well indeed.
He is correct that we need to be careful in our use of words, and their accompanying punctuation. If we fail to do so, meaning can change drastically from what we intended to say, not to mention the fact that we can also render them unintelligible.
I have read stories that I loved, yet found it difficult to read, simply due to the author's inability to spell or punctuate correctly.
Having said that, there have been authors whose stories surpassed their writing skills so completely, that I simply couldn't stop reading them, mistakes and all.
There are stories that once they were edited, shined brightly and lovingly for all to read, but sadly, there are also some stories that couldn't be brought into a form that could be read and enjoyed; at least, I couldn't figure out how to fix them, possibly someone with more skills than I possess, could have managed to salvage those, but I was not the one to do it.
Thank you TSL, as always you have done a wonderful job of making us think about things.
Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher