The pen is mightier than the sword

I am an alumnae of the Beta Theta chapter of Alpha Xi Delta.  Our pin is in the shape of a quill, to remind us of our motto, "the pen is mightier than the sword."  I am thinking of this today because it reminds me of the great responsibility not just AZD's, but we all carry, to choose our words wisely and meticulously, as they can have tremendous impact on the people who encounter them.

I have seen a lot of situations lately where people have used words to do some major damage to others. Hell, I went through it myself on Friday (See my last blog). And I guess if you want to get technical, it is an occupational hazard of mine, but I digress.   But one situation of late really reminded me of the quill:  Some friends had a falling out.  A couple of them extended an olive branch in hopes of at least gaining closure and peace--not necessarily to reestablish a full connection.  Like a strike from an expertly trained swordsman, the response they received was piercing and swift, and caused a lot of pain.

Before I go on, I must pontificate a bit and say that I believe that everyone is always entitled to their feelings.   I think that's normal. It's part of being human. As humans, we are entitled to feel whatever we want.  We have a great responsibility to ourselves to remember that it's okay to feel. Free will, it is a bitch (she says sarcastically).For the people in the particular situation above, I can only assume there is variety of feelings rolling around, making the world seem like they're look at it through a kaleidoscope.

However, I will also say that another large part of of the responsibility of being human is that which we have to each other.  Everyday, we are faced with the choice of how to treat people.  We are faced with the choice to say 'please' or 'thank you.' We are faced with the choice to say 'no, thanks' or 'eff no, are you stupid??'  I was speaking to another friend recently and she reminded me that if you put good energy out into the universe, you will get good energy back.  Karma.  What goes around comes around.  You reap what you sow.  (side note:  I love how I just unintentionally wrote the above line in a very abrupt Shatneresque manner. annnnyway...)

I believe the weight and value of our words are often overlooked, not necessarily by others, but by ourselves.  We have such a great responsibility to others in that each step we take in this intrinsic universal dance, that I think we often forget that everything we do is a cause and will elicit an effect.  I'm not sure which is more dangerous--those who do not take care to pay attention to their words, or those who are cognizant of their words, and meticulously choose them, with a blatant disregard for the feelings of those to whom they are delivering the words.

I've said it before, I'll say it again. In the words of Abe Lincoln as portrayed in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, "Be excellent to one another." So I guess today, I am thankful for the values that my sorority instilled upon me.  Yes, I struggle everyday to remember the weight of my words, and I think particularly more than others, merely for my chosen profession. But I try, and I guess that's all anyone can do.