Why are so many malicious words being uttered around us everyday? Isn’t anyone in our world happy? Just because there are terrible things going on, do we need to add to this horrific mix, our own words of hostility, impatience, vengefulness, pessimism, and loveless-ness? How did you start your day? Were you crabby, pouting, or hostile? How many people have you affected adversely just in this one day? Surely there has been room for a kind word, a word of forgiveness, and a word of encour...

Though we are admonished not to judge other people, it is wise to be on the alert, to discern just what kind of mindset other people may be displaying. One way to do that is to be a good listener. By listening to the words that people say and you can usually determine what kind of person they are. There are exceptions. If one is an actor, a storyteller, or an entertainer, you might have to wait until they are off stage before drawing your conclusions.If you can spend several days with someone...

In my first attempt to share my thoughts on the power our words can have on others and on ourselves, I wondered off a bit. That happens often these days. Some people call that having a “senior moment,” but it is just my way of putting down whatever seems to pop up in my mind as I write.I like that about this blog thing. Unless a person is a perfectionist, there is no need to have a great style, to be a stickler for grammar or to fear that you will be misunderstood. I have found that blog rea...

As a retired teacher of many years who loves words, both spoken and written, my thoughts today are filled with memories of the effect my own words have had on the treasured people in my life. At the early age of 17, I started out teaching seniors in high school who were older than I was. I really had to watch my words with them. I quickly learned that words have a great deal of power and that I had to be responsible for whatever words came out of my mouth or from my pen. They can either h...