The Power of Words

Picture: http://www.reconnections.net/communication.htm

There is so much power in words... they can lead a man to his freedom or his doom... they can start a fight or lead to a truce.... words hold so much meaning... the way people phrase their words can change the whole atmosphere or the way events turn out... There is an Arabic proverb that says that  'The wound of words, is worse than the wound of swords" and another one... "Your tongue is like a horse, if you take care of it, it will take care of you... but if you treat it badly, it will treat you badly."

I have to admit that I am much better at writing than I am at speaking and voicing my opinions and feelings. When I write, I have the ability to delete any words that I misused or felt that they do not fit in with the sentence structure that I had chosen.... I wish that I had that same option when I spoke.  After words come out of my mouth, I sometimes find myself wishing that I had used another term or phrased them differently... When words escape my mouth like that, I sometimes wish that there was a rewind and delete button.

I remember my dad continuously advising me on this... He always mentioned an Arab proverb that made so much sense to me but for a person who has so many words on her mind and on her tongue it was kind of difficult to press pause and hold them inside my mouth forever ... The proverb went like this... "If talking is made of silver, then silence is made of gold". I have to admit that I am getting better at biting my tongue the older I get... If I were to use those imprisoned words wisely, then I am positive that they would make a difference in many situations... but until then I will try to heed my father's advice.

Which brings me to my next point.... How I wish that those in high powerful places, and I am not referring to God or any divine power, would allow people to say what is on their minds... say the words that they have been forced to imprison within them due to fear of persecution...torture, imprisonment, house arrest or exile.

Everyone has the right to say what is wrong with a certain aspect of their country... At the end of the day, they are living in that country and would like to see some positive changes to where they decided to raise a family. No one would want their family to live in injustice, to live in fear, to be persecuted, humiliated and their basic human rights violated... Therefore,  what is wrong with bringing those powerful people's attention to the reality of how their subjects are living? 

Why is it a crime to share your opinions and ideas with the rest of your country? Isn't the most essential job when leading a country is to make sure that everyone is content and have a good standard of living... that no one is left wanting and that the basic of human rights are acted upon? 

I feel that these leaders, who have a difficulty accepting that their subjects are suffering, are either blind to what is really happening outside their mansion or palace walls or have such a low self-confidence that they do not accept constructive criticism from their subjects who are living outside that protective shielding wall.

Did they really go around their country getting to know the people they are leading? Do they make it a point to touch their hearts and win over their acceptance, love and loyalty? I wonder.... 

Leading a country is such a huge responsibility... something I do not think I will ever be able to fully understand the magnitude of.. but one thing that I definitely know is that there is something lacking...  there is a missing link between the person who is leading and the people being led... 

To me the whole purpose of leading others is to 1. Guide; guide them to a better way of living, with better laws and regulations, 2. Protect; protect them from aggressors, invaders, thieves and murderers, 3. Educate; educate their minds and souls so that they grow up into responsible and independent citizens, 4. Provide; provide them with job opportunities, the chances and resources to grow and live well, 5. Nurture; nurture their bodies with food and good medical care... and in return, the happy and satisfied 'led' people would work well, be loyal subjects to the leader and live harmoniously with others.

This is me babbling on and on... but at least I have the option of scrolling up and deleting everything if I wanted to.