Use Your Words

 

My boyfriend loves to listen to me read the stories I write out loud. He is not well educated or the literary type at all. The last time I read to him was over the weekend when I read “My Third Act”. He has heard most of the others I have posted here over the past 8 months. I was particularly stricken by the comment he made this time when he said “I feel all these feelings but I could never find the words to write them down.” This made me feel sad. I personally couldn’t imagine going through life without this ability to express myself with words. I know it’s a gift that many don’t have. I am particularly fortunate as a stroke survivor to have never suffered from a condition known as aphasia which is the loss of ability to understand or express speech, caused by brain damage. This would be real torture. So that is another piece of the 5,000 piece jigsaw puzzle of gratitude that forms the picture of my life.

When my son was in preschool he had trouble keeping his hands to himself. He frequently got in trouble for hitting other kids. This was the beginning of our education about the importance of learning how to use your words to express your feelings as opposed to acting out physically. As mom to two boys I don’t know how many times I had to remind them to “use your words” to work things out between them in the midst of their frequent power struggles. I know some adults who still need to learn how to do this.

Let’s all be grateful for having access to unlimited words and exercise our right to express ourselves as often as we can.