Power of Words
Written or spoken, words are the currency through which thoughts take shape in our minds and are then expressed outwardly. Almost like a living organism, words are capable of growing, spreading and effecting the world in many ways. They have the power to change lives, to encourage, to discourage, to guide or misguide, to make or break relationships or to heal a broken heart.
How do we use words to create meaning? What distinguishes plain words from ‘words of wisdom’? Is there a fine line between being politically correct and being conscious of the words we choose? What aspect of words or their delivery makes them inspirational? So how do we want to use our words- to deceive or to illuminate, to divide or to unite? And how conscious should we be of when, where, how, how much and with whom we communicate? What role do intention and purity of heart play? Do words of Divine Teachers carry more potency? Are there cultural and linguistic differences in how words influence the heart? What are the effects of excessive speech? To what extent do factors such as timeliness, place, content and style influence its impact?
"Raise your words, not your voice. It
is rain that grows flowers, not thunder."
–Rumi
“Beware! Beware! Lest ye offend any
heart!
Beware! Beware! Lest ye hurt any soul!
Beware! Beware! Lest ye deal unkindly
toward any person!
Beware! Beware! Lest ye be the cause of
hopelessness to any creature!”
-'Abdu'l-Baha
"The secret of being boring is to say
everything."
–Voltaire
"Kind words can be short and easy to
speak, but their echoes are truly endless."
-Mother Teresa
“A kindly
tongue is the lodestone of the hearts of men. It is the bread of the spirit, it
clotheth the words with meaning, it is the fountain of the light of wisdom and
understanding. “
“Kindness
in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness
in giving creates love.”
-Lao Tzu
“Better than a thousand hollow words, is
one word that brings peace.“
-Buddha
“Do not be content with showing friendship
in words alone, let your heart burn with loving kindness for all who may cross
your path”
“Whatever words we utter should be
chosen with care for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good
or ill.”
-Buddha
“For the
tongue is a smoldering fire, and excess of speech a deadly poison. Material
fire consumeth the body, whereas the fire of the tongue devoureth both heart
and soul. The force of the former lasteth but for a time, whilst the effects of
the latter endureth a century.”
– Baha’u’llah
“Prayer is not asking. It is a longing
of the soul. It is daily admission of one's weakness. It is better in prayer to
have a heart without words than words without a heart.”
-Mahatma Gandhi
“For out of
the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good
treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings
forth evil.”
– Matthew 12:33
“Keep your thoughts positive because
your thoughts become your words. Keep your words positive because your words
become your behavior. Keep your behavior positive because your behavior becomes
your habits. Keep your habits positive because your habits become your values.
Keep your values positive because your values become your destiny.”
-Gandhi
“Beware, O people of
Baha, lest ye walk in the ways of them whose words differ from their deeds.”
– Baha’u’llah
“Let no
corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building
up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”
– Ephesians 4:29
“Take heed, O people,
lest ye be of them that give good counsel to others but forget to follow it
themselves.”
– Baha’u’llah
“There is one
whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings
healing.”
- Proverbs 12:18
"No man of wisdom can demonstrate
his knowledge save by means of words. This showeth the significance of the Word
as is affirmed in all the Scriptures, whether of former times or more recently.
For it is through its potency and animating spirit that the people of the world
have attained so eminent a position. Moreover words and utterances should be
both impressive and penetrating. However, no word will be infused with these
two qualities unless it be uttered wholly for sake of God and with due regard
unto the exigencies of the occasion and the people."
-Baha'u'llah
“You talk when you cease to be at peace with your
thoughts;
And when you can no longer dwell in the solitude
of your heart you live in your lips, and sound is a diversion and a pastime.
And in much of your talking, thinking is half
murdered.
For thought is a bird of space, that in a cage of
words may indeed unfold its wings but cannot fly.
-K. Gibran
"Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweet
to the soul and health to the bones."
-Proverbs 16:24
There
are those among you who seek the talkative through fear of being alone.
The
silence of aloneness reveals to their eyes their naked selves and they would
escape.
And
there are those who talk, and without knowledge or forethought reveal a truth
which they themselves do not understand.
And
there are those who have the truth within them, but they tell it not in words.
In
the bosom of such as these the spirit dwells in rhythmic silence.
When
you meet your friend on the roadside or in the market place, let the spirit in
you move your lips and direct your tongue.
Let
the voice within your voice speak to the ear of his ear;
For
his soul will keep the truth of your heart as the taste of the wine is
remembered
When
the colour is forgotten and the vessel is no more.”
-K. Gibran
“Language creates reality. Words
have power. Speak always to create joy.”
– Deepak Chopra
“Say: Human utterance is an essence
which aspireth to exert its influence and needeth moderation. As to its
influence, this is conditional upon refinement which in turn is dependent upon
hearts which are detached and pure.”
– Baha’u’llah
“Let your eye be chaste, your hand
faithful, your tongue truthful and your heart enlightened.”
– Baha’u’llah
"Kind words are the music of the world.
They have a power which seems to be beyond natural causes, as if they were some
angel's song which had lost its way and come to earth."
-Frederick William Faber
“Words mean more than what is set down on
paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with shades of deeper meaning.”
“Once I knew only darkness and
stillness... my life was without past or future... but a little word from the
fingers of another fell into my hand that clutched at emptiness, and my heart leaped
to the rapture of living.“
-Helen Keller
“O people! Words
must be supported by deeds, for deeds are the true test of words. Without
the former, the latter can never quench the thirst of the yearning soul, nor
unlock the portals of vision before the eyes of the blind. The Lord of
celestial wisdom saith: A harsh word is even as a sword thrust; a gentle
word as milk. The latter leadeth the children of men unto knowledge and
conferreth upon them true distinction.”
– Baha’u’llah
“Not everything that a man knoweth
can be disclosed, nor can everything that he can disclose be regarded as
timely, nor can every timely utterance be considered as suited to the capacity of
those who hear it.”
– Baha’u’llah
