The Power of the Word

Recently a student approached me and asked, "Ms, will you please help me put on a talent show for our school?"

I asked, "Why? Why do we need one?"

Her response, "Because people need to smile more!"
This child and I share a common secret. I know the depths of the hell she's endured as surely as she knows the ones I walked through last year. She hasn't shared her truth with others. I'm not quite sure how many people actually know. But when I lay in my hospital bed last year, a pigeon in the guise of a fellow educator brought me a message from her, one which she hoped would give me enough strength with which to rise out of my darkness.

I held on to her testimony as the days melted into each other. Had she not shared, had her words evaporated in her mind-

Her word-her journey- her testimony shaped my today. Just like each of our words will shape the lives of others.

I haven't actively sought out others. They seem to find me, be it at a park or through a friend. They reach out and I pause. I form my words carefully and I attempt to share my truth with them as my little ray of hope did with me all those months ago.

They, like myself, have faced anger, denial, and finally stumbled upon resignation. Each time I sit with someone whose reality comes crashing down on them we do the same thing, we fill the space with raw words. Usually tears gush forth, then anger-and always we struggle with the past to make sense of the present.

There is something powerful about taking your fears, shaping them into coherent thoughts and verbalizing them aloud. Sometimes, no response is necessary. Silence embraces the spoken word and its echo shapes truth like nothing else.

But not all of us are there. Sometimes, we find ourselves alone- just on the brink of the longest of journeys, unable to share with others, unable to allow another onto our path.  But that too is normal, it is all normal. If you find yourself here, then just know that you are not alone, not by a long shot. There are others who love you and want to join your path, when you are ready.

Someone recently asked me to heal their wife. I looked at him and said, "Did she send you?"

He started to tear up. "No, no, she doesn't even know I'm here!" He said.

Revelation!

One can't start healing unless and until they speak their truth aloud. Unless they stand on their own two feet and say: "I need help!"

"I can't help you help her. I can help you help yourself or you can talk to her and get her to speak her own truth, but I can't force anybody to do anything they don't want to do."

Flustered, he thanked me and left.

The word is healing.

The word frees.

The word allows the victim to become a warrior.
Even if the first step is to speak the word to yourself in an empty room, the word, when crafted, when genuine, will release the heaviest of burdens from your shoulders.

What did my first words look like? The first time I tried this-this is how I sounded:

"Dear God- I-don't-know-what-I'm-supposed-to-say... but I can't hold it in anymore. I don't know what journey I am on. I don't know what tomorrow holds. I'm scared. I'm tired. I know that the journey doesn't end here. I know that I will see a tomorrow and many tomorrows to come. I know that I will continue to share of my heart with others. All this I know and believe."

Your word may not sound like my word-but it is a mixture of your current mental state intermixed with your deepest hopes. If you believe in God, speak to him. If you don't, speak aloud and form your truth regardless, just put it out there. Over time my word changed, it became stronger as my mind, body, and soul became stronger.

Christians say, "take every thought captive." (2 Corinthians 10:5) There is a truth in that.

Don't shower yourself with curses. Don't let the darkness run rampant. Don't allow yourself to slip into the mire. And if you do, know that even that is normal. The journey-any journey has peaks and valleys, nothing is even ground.

All of it is normal, all this is natural, for it is part of the journey.

Then, if you feel that you would like to delve deeper into the power of the word, you can treat yourself to The Four Agreements, written by Don Miguel Ruiz. He explores the power of the word and  describes how we have the power "to express and communicate, to think, and thereby to create the events in life" (Ruiz, 26).  Just like a self fulfilling prophecy, if we say we can't, then most likely we will fail at whatever we set out to accomplish. However, if we voice our desires aloud and we speak our truths honestly and humbly then we are "hooking our attention, the word can enter our mind and change a whole belief for better or for worse" (Ruiz 29).

Thus, transcend fear and live the life you want to live!

You are stronger than you think!

Capture every negative thought, realize where it stems from and then, release it, by telling yourself the complete opposite!

Cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, and all the other diseases combined cannot keep you down unless you believe that it can. Your mind and your body are not separate of each other, but must be balanced in a harmonious state for both to function at full peak. Therefore, any and all diseases are fought on two fronts-the body and the mind.

Be intentional!
Be aware.

Fight with truth and let your word be the hope in another's life for in the end, that is all we truly get in this world.  And rest assured that if you want to connect, I'm a text/e-mail away.  I am more than willing to sit with you while you grapple with your word.

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Till next time, go live, thrive, have fun, and do great things!