Choose your words carefully they say. Words are powerful daggers and the wrong words can crush a person as easily as good words can build them up. So choose carefully.
I listen when I am in the world to the way other humans talk to each other. Is it with care or callous thoughtless words?
Often with careless, callous words. I believe adults can fend for themselves but children, that’s another story. When I see a parent berating their child with hurtful harmful words, I can’t help but wonder, if they do that in public, what goes on in private?
At first the child may cower at the harsh words and the tone of the voice, but as time goes on, one of two things seems to happen, the child either becomes desensitized to life and becomes as callous as the words, or as fragile as an egg shell afraid of their own shadow.
Both are a tragedy. A child with untapped gifts hidden under a protective shell and never tried out is depriving the world of their gifts. The child never reaches their potential , the stay wrapped in quiet despair and are swallowed by the world around them. If they become damaged from word abuse, they may pass it on to their own children as it the norm and they know no other way of life.
Words can be as caustic as acid and as nurturing as fertilizer. Even words spoken in perceived adult honesty can be harmful to a child. Children are not small adults, they are children who are learning about the world from us. Every question asked by a child should be answered thoughtfully and with care.
As adults we become jaded and callous as our exposure to the “real world” provides us with information overload and a million personal choices to make in life good or bad. Children are innocents and they turn to us for answers because they perceive us to be wiser. Use your chance to respond in a way that allows the child to understand the tough subjects and the choices they may have to make as an adult.
Use the mastery of language to enhance, enrich and nurture that child, open their eyes and hearts to possibilities. Encourage them to take chances, explore and leap into the world, a fantastic place.
Until Next time,
LJ
Eclectic Energy 