Kindness and the Words We Choose.

Deep breathe in, deep breathe out.

Ok...

Hi. Yeah, it's me again, the guy that rambles.

So I want to start out by talking about language for a sec. When I was writing my previous post I was kind of rushed, (I tend to do things at the last moment. I.E. Today's post that I didn't finish until 4:00am) and I used a word that overall didn't feel right after I published the post. I used the word goodness. And I just kinda kept ruminating over it because the word choice just felt a bit too much like a judgment thing, which was not my intent.

I'm a person that strongly believes that words and word choice matter. The ones we hear every day, the ones we heard growing up, the ones we tell ourselves, they all leave their marks on us. They can shape how we think, act, and judge things. For me, the word I wanted was actually something like, kindness. It feels a bit more relatable and something we can choose to do rather than a label of good vs evil and the like.

Overall, the idea of word choice was never really my thing until I started to really get help for my mental health stemming from emotional abuse I got from the world around me growing up. I was told more than a few times that word choices matter when we talk about ourselves. Using a better word choice will start to influence the way you think, they said. And that really stuck with me. I mean it's true. All the words around us affect us more than we think about sometimes. Basically, the words we carry with us is the frame in which we see the world.

Now having said that, the words we heard growing up, or from family, friends, lovers doesn't, in any way, absolve us of the responsibility for our actions. In the end, we are still the ones that are accountable for how we treat others around us. But it adds a bit of nuance. It helps us to see how certain reactions we make come easier than others, or why sometimes certain choices can be instant while others leave us with a mental blue screen of death. (That's computer lingo. The blue screen of death is what happens when your computer crashes. You get a blue screen and an error message, then you need to restart your computer and hope it works, anyway.) I mean, the words that have been used around you, and I mean from all sources by the way, not just family and friends, they can dictate everything from what kind of bread is the best, to how you treat that stranger you just accidently bumped into.

The first time I started to really focus on my word choices, it was a pain. I'd have to take my time when thinking of things, correct myself out loud or be more gentle with the words I use on myself. If you think about it, that seems extremely tiring, doesn't it? Well, it's not. Just like how we learned the words and patterns we use now, making these choices won't require any more thought for you than using the words you use now. I'm trying, poorly I think, to be like supportive or, what's the word? Something like a cheerleader? Anyway, I'm trying to say it isn't as annoying as you might think it is.

Once these changes start to take root, it spreads. The way we speak to ourselves starts to influence how we speak to others and vice versa. You'll notice that things aren't quite as negative as once thought, or how you interacted with the world around you. Noticing things about others, doing small things to lift a mood, not getting so pissed at a stranger for something that wasn't a big deal in the long run.

I dunno, that's what's on my mind at the moment. How we go about doing kindness to ourselves, and the world we live in. I mean, in the end, we are all stuck on this same spinning planet as everyone else. We might as well try to make the time on it enjoyable.

Anyway, that's it from me. Sorry it was a bit late. I hope this helped or made a few people think. If you've got any questions or comments, don't forget to leave them below or email us using the link down below.

Until next time.