All I Know to Say is ...

Here are some memorable quotes from the week:

"This shirt is not pink. It's light blood."

"I have dropped a few [pounds]. So now my clothes hang [on me] like a bowl of soup."

"So you do know a little about ancient battles."
(said to a friend after going on a five minute spiel about an ancient battle after asked if he was a little familiar with them)

"Well it knows when you're in a hurry."
(said after someone commented that computers don't think)

"I must have missed that science class. I slept a lot in high school."
(after a discussion on how our bodies are composed of completely different atoms, cells, molecules, etc, now than when we were five)

As these and other quotes struck me throughout the week I realized, once again, the power of words. The words we speak have a tendency to bypass our brains and just pour forth from our mouths, leaving the damage to be repaired later. Elizabeth Elliot Gren says something so memorable about this phenomenon, "Never pass up an opportunity to keep your mouth shut." Great advice (that I certainly need to heed more often).

After all, people may say, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me," but that, my friends, is a lie. A straight up lie. They may never show that your words have wounded them, but they may nurse their wound in silence for years. The fact is that words have power. How much pain and grief could we save others and ourselves if we would pause to think about what we were going to say before we said it. Once the words leave your mouth there is no taking them back. Life has no rewind. Measure your words carefully - for they can be your greatest friend, or your most powerful enemy.

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