The childhood adage “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” has been going thru my head for several days now. If you had a broken bone or an injury when you were younger, you may recollect it with some degree of “that was SO cool!” But there are probably not many of us that can’t recall a painful thing that was said to us in our youthful days (and even into adulthood), and it can still bring distress to remember the heartache and embarrassment it caused at the time.

Being the mother of a developmentally delayed daughter, I found out early in her life that kids can be especially cruel. My precious, sensitive girl showed me a video clip recently of a scene from a TV show depicting the nonchalant cruelty of one guy towards a very shy friend. She was upset about it for days. Just watching the clip made her cry. It keeps playing over and over in my mind, and it keeps reminding me of how careful we should be with our words.

Is it possible for us to rise above the words? Of course, many of us can and do. But wouldn’t it be so much better to consider what we say before we say it? To use our words to encourage, to build up, to help others soar? To look at each other with respect and affection and convey those feelings to people with whom we are fortunate enough to interact? I am overwhelmingly thankful for my family. I am so blessed with my friends. I want to find more words to show appreciation of those with whom I come in contact, and to let them know how very much they mean to me.