© 2023 Kebba Buckley Button, MS, OM. World Rights Reserved. http://www.kebba.com
Images by eatyourwordscookies.com
Have you noticed how powerful words can be? Words can soothe or inflame, convey love or disgust. A single word can define a discovery moment. A loved one shows up with new glasses or a pink hair streak, and what’s the first word out of your mouth? Maybe it’s “Cool!” That sets the stage for a mutually delighted conversation– a bonding moment. Maybe it’s “OhNo!” And that sets the stage for an adversarial conversation, not a loving one. This moment may be remembered forever. In that case, if you only get one word, what would your word be?
Sometimes, when you’ve said something that gets a bad reaction, you get a chance to backtrack. This is famously known as eating your words. Public figures sometimes make claims that turn out to be lacking a factual basis. Then they may try to backtrack, often saying, “what I meant was…” They may claim they misspoke, simply using the wrong word or the wrong word in the wrong place. This dynamic is tricky in our current times, when most of what we say is recorded by someone, or by thousands.
Our language is so dynamic that there is now an Urban Dictionary (www.urbandictionary.com), in case we need to know what FOMO means (Fear of Missing Out) or what Nooch is (nutritional yeast, a staple for the vegan diet). Major dictionaries update their word collections regularly. New words are announced about yearly. For 2022, the New Oxford Word of the Year is goblin mode. It results from people feeling overwhelmed by having to present their best selves at all times. Summarized by The Guardian, goblin mode is “a type of behaviour which is unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, slovenly, or greedy, typically in a way that rejects social norms or expectations.” It’s the opposite of the Hollywood-generated perfection standard– perfect skin, body, hair, makeup, and behavior at all times.
A symptom of the change in societal mood is the increase in what we used to call swearing. Some think this came hip-hopping straight out of Compton, like the movie of a similar name. Some dismiss this trend as being authentic. Some think it bubbled up from the anger and frustration of the last couple of Presidential elections in the US, and people are trying to discharge their stress overwhelm by using f-ing this and sh-tty that. However, research has shown that the more you swear, the less it works to discharge your frustration. So save it.
In the World’s all-time best-selling book– the Bible— Solomon wrote about the power of words. And there are many translations, because he was writing in Classical Hebrew, a language used around 2500-3000 years ago. Here are two translations:
Proverbs 18:21 [MSG] Words kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit—you choose.
Proverbs 18:21 [GNT] What you say can preserve life or destroy it; so you must accept the consequences of your words.
Several translations say you will “eat the fruit” of your words. Do you use your words, as Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King did, to bring peace where possible, to inspire and uplift people? Do you speak quiet words of love, admiration, and appreciation to your friends, loved ones, and Board members?
If you’re going to eat your words, they should be sweet, kind, supportive, even loving. And now there is a company that helps with that. As in the image above, bakers from Eat Your Words Cookies (http://www.eatyourwords.com) will make you the loving message you like. They will also put your corporate logo on cookies, by a photo method only the bakers understand.
Are your words kind, or even sweet? Or are they controlling, generating discord or shame? Listen to your own words for the next day or two. Then ask yourself what life you are shaping for yourself, with the power of your words. And that will be you, ever more Healthy Happy and Loving Lifesm!
Kebba Buckley Button is a stress/energy management expert, holistic healer, and award-winning author who celebrates life. She has a longtime natural healing practice and is an ordained minister. Among her books are: Discover The Secret Energized You (http://tinyurl.com/b44v3br), Inspirations for Peace Within: Quotes and Images to Uplift and Inspire, and Sacred Meditation: Embracing the Divine. The books are available on Amazon and through Kebba’s office. They are also available in Scottsdale, Arizona, at the Franciscan Renewal Center bookstore and at the bookstore at St. Barnabas on the Desert Episcopal Church. Or simply email us to order: kebba@kebba.com . Thank you!
Books by Kebba Buckley Button
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Today is our US National Day of Prayer. Passed into law in 1952, it’s a day for all faiths to focus on prayer, in whatever form they may believe in. And there are many forms of prayer. Some popular forms are:
Healthy Happy Loving Life! 