{"id":393,"date":"2016-12-03T15:26:12","date_gmt":"2016-12-03T15:26:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/?p=393"},"modified":"2016-12-08T22:24:08","modified_gmt":"2016-12-08T22:24:08","slug":"taking-responsibility-words","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/2016\/12\/taking-responsibility-words.html","title":{"rendered":"Taking Responsibility for Our Words"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"person-woman-desk-laptop<\/a><\/p>\n

Our words matter.<\/p>\n

Yesterday I read a news story about a teenage girl in Texas who killed herself due to cyber-bullying.\u00a0 Other kids were picking on her through social media about her weight.\u00a0 The bullying was so relentless that she committed suicide as a result.<\/p>\n

Our words are that powerful.<\/p>\n

I often hear parents excuse mean comments said between their children as \u201csibling banter.\u201d Our future president has excused his crass comments about women as \u201clocker room talk.\u201d\u00a0 Some musicians claim that their vulgar song lyrics are \u201ccreative expression.\u201d\u00a0 The problem with those excuses is this: If we have to make excuses for what we say, we probably shouldn\u2019t be saying it in the first place.<\/p>\n

We can wound people by our words using very little effort or intellect. \u201cYou are fat.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cYou are dumb.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cYou are ugly.\u201d\u00a0 We can injure merely by using the vocabulary of a kindergartener.<\/p>\n

When I was a kid, we used to say a little rhyme: Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. If only that were true.\u00a0 Try telling that to the family of the young lady from Texas.<\/p>\n

We are living in an age in which our power to communicate is at an all-time high. We can send a text or an email to someone on the other side of the world merely by clicking \u201csend.\u201d\u00a0 We can set up blogs, vlogs, Instagram accounts and Facebook pages to share our thoughts about other people, politics, science and society.\u00a0 But with that power comes responsibility<\/em>.<\/p>\n

We are not autonomous beings inhabiting this earth. If we were, in some respects, life would be a whole lot easier.\u00a0 Instead, for better or worse, we are connected to one another.\u00a0 What I do and say affects other people and vice versa.\u00a0 So, our words have far reaching effects.\u00a0 As a result, if we want to live in a world that is pleasant, peaceful and gentle, we need to communicate in ways that promote that.<\/p>\n

Admittedly, I am not perfect in this regard. If I am irritated, I can say things that are unkind and not helpful.\u00a0 But I try to keep that kind of behavior at a minimum.\u00a0 For the most part, I make a conscious effort to encourage rather than discourage, and to lift up others whenever I can.<\/p>\n

We all need to scrutinize what we are saying to others, whether it be in private conversation or publicly on the Internet.\u00a0\u00a0 We always should be asking ourselves, \u201cIs what I am saying inspiring, encouraging, amusing or informing others?\u00a0 If not, then what am I trying to accomplish?\u201d\u00a0 The second question is the one most of us avoid asking ourselves.\u00a0 If the purpose of your communication is to hurt, ridicule, or discourage another person, then your words need to stay inside your head.<\/p>\n

Take some time to consider the effect of your words on others. Your words are powerful.\u00a0 They have the power to hurt or to inspire.\u00a0 They can make another person feel loved and valued, or they can make that person feel inadequate and unworthy.\u00a0 If we all took responsibility for our words, our world would be a very different place indeed.<\/p>\n

(Photo courtesy of Pexels)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our words matter. Yesterday I read a news story about a teenage girl in Texas who killed herself due to cyber-bullying.\u00a0 Other kids were picking on her through social media about her weight.\u00a0 The bullying was so relentless that she committed suicide as a result. Our words are that powerful. I often hear parents excuse…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":593,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[17,18],"class_list":["post-393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-cyber-bullying","tag-responsibility"],"yoast_head":"\nTaking Responsibility for Our Words - Your Morning Cup of Inspiration<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/2016\/12\/taking-responsibility-words.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Taking Responsibility for Our Words - Your Morning Cup of Inspiration\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Our words matter. 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