sticks and stones may break my bones, but words ____ hurt.

take this in whatever way it comes to you first.
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words.

they are very real. they are the language of our tongues. they are how we communicate with one another. they are the basis of many if not all things and how we learn. they are everything, no matter what time of day.

so how is it one can say words are nothing? rather yet, "...the most meaningless objects..." in one's life?

i have a friend who is not phased, whatsoever, by anything you say to him. no amount of insults could offend. but i find it surprising that most people who feel this way are so quick to fire back. but why? if they don't mean anything to you, and you don't take them to heart, then why fight back instead of letting it roll off your shoulders. it does not make you a coward. it does not make you less of a civil human being. it does NOT make nor leave you defenseless.

i find it hard to grasp how "meaningless" words can be, when they are packed with so much power...so much emotion. through a single 6 word sentence, the fate of loved one can be communicated. through 3 little words, you can make one's fairy-tale dream a reality. through 2, you can commit to a lifetime with someone else or admit a thousand apologies.

i'm not ashamed to say that i'm quite often afraid of words. in fact, every phone call from my sister i hesitate to pick up because of the current state of family emergencies. words describe. words explain. words cause something to go off in your mind and make you feel genuine, happy, and naked all in one. it's through words that i'm able to communicate any thing from my mind to this screen. it's through words that an artist can write the lyrics to any song. it's the meaning you put behind the word that gives it it's value.

words have broken down walls. words have built up empires and joined different worlds. words have created wars. words have mended broken bridges. words have made enemies and allies alike.

so why doubt their value or their validity?
why break them down and call them worthless?
why use them if this is what you're going to say about them?


don't doubt your words. when you do, you only doubt yourself.

right or wrong? says who...

as weird as this may sound, i went through my word files and started reading some old papers i had written for various classes. one was a more opinionated one about feminist and gay spirituality and the spiritual dilemma. and to be blatantly honest, what i had expected to find was a poorly written, half-assed paper. instead, by the end of it i found myself actually intrigued and shocked by what i had written. i was surprisingly vocal on the topic, at least for it being a final paper, and i saw myself concentrating more so on the gay side than the feminist side. my thoughts, i wouldn't say, have changed, but more so matured and have become more informed through meeting so many new people.

with that said, here part of my paper:

While finding identities and a place to belong makes a great a diagnosis of the spiritual dilemma, I feel that the remedy lies very heavily on not those who are in those situations, but those who perceive them to be a problem.
Somewhere along the way of radical movements in the 60s and 70s, our minds have contracted in the judgment department and have resided back in our boxes. As humans we long to be accepted and loved, but as humans we also judge and instinctively strive to be inclusive—having our own mass club or culture to belong to (whether it be blue collar, white collar, Puerto Rican, Asian, American patriotism, etc.). It’s when someone comes along whose ways prove to be different that we raise our eyebrows and begin to point our fingers.
More of my personal problem clocks in on the gay spirituality side of this topic. For so long “the” church (I say “the” in reference to almost all Western religions) preaches “Love thy neighbor”. However, the most conservative of Christians, even the most holiest of people are the first to throw Bible verses saying “You’re going to Hell” in the face of those who go to them for love and acceptance (and I say this from a personal incident within my own family). It absolutely blows my mind.
As I recall, one of our class chats dealt with “right and wrong” being a structure of society (“…there is nothing innate in “redness” to make it mean stop.”), and with this I completely agree on; there is nothing innate in “gay/lesbianism” to make it wrong or right--why can’t it just be?
The thing with history, any history, is that it’s written by humans who decide what is to be put in to the books that the following generations are to read. If true Christians were that, just true Christians, then they would know that pure religion is somewhere along the lines of loving the widows and orphans and to love your neighbor as yourself. It’s not those feminist movements that are ridiculed by the church, but those dealing with homosexuality and openly gay marriages that cause unnecessary chaos. I would "categorize" or "label" myself as a Christian, yes, but I’m personally slow to anger and slow to judge, and I know this because I know my heart. But who is to say what is right and wrong? If you were to abide by the Bible, then homosexuality is wrong, yes. But at the same token, we’re not really following the path outlined by Christ to never turn away those [who come to you] in most need of your love and forgiveness.


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an incident comes to mind. a friend of mine a while back was completely disgusted when she found out a really close friend of ours had "come out of the closet," so to say. there was just no convincing her other wise. but was it right for her to think that being gay was like some sort of horrible disease but act like things were completely find when around him? what is it about being gay that makes people cringe? not only gay. what is it about homeless that make people turn their heads?
i guess the point i'm getting at here is that they are all still people just like the rest of us. what makes any person better and gives them the right to treat them otherwise?

sure not all people, whether gay, homeless, or redical feminist, commit to the most tasteful or polite things in public...but don't let the few speak out and represent the many. that happens all too often already. so many people, businesses, and other organizations are tainted because of this.
only when you clear mind can you truly begin to clear your vision.


"student: Are you a Christian?
Wilfred Cantwell Smith: I don't know. Ask my neighbor."