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The old children’s rhyme says, “Sticks and Stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” And when I say “old rhyme”, I mean old. This saying dates all the way back to 1830, over 191 years ago. I am not sure what life was like back then, but if this was a saying that was invented to make people feel better, and it actually worked, well then it must have been a MUCH different world than the one we live in today.
For me, this rhyme does not help me at all. It never did. Sure, sticks and stones can break our bones, and yes, broken bones hurt. But, well, let’s face it, words can hurt even more. Some words can hurt so bad that the person on the receiving end of them would probably prefer a broken bone over the hatred that was just thrown in their life.
Recently, I had a follower of the BYBS blog write in to me about some hatred that was just spewed at her and, the cruelest part, it came from inside her and her husband’s family. It’s funny how sometimes family can hurt us much more than anyone else in our world.
In my friend’s situation, she was told, very directly, that she was a bad person. Someone not worthy enough to even raise her own beautiful children as she wasn’t doing a good enough job.
Let’s pause right here for just a minute and reflect on that…Wow!?! How much more hurtful can this family member get? And the worst part, this follower of the blog has cried every day since. She has cried for the pain she feels inside, the hurt she is experiencing for someone actually thinking this about her. She just doesn’t know how to change direction and move forward from this. She just doesn’t know how to find the strength and courage. And if you were to ask her, I am sure she would prefer to deal with a broken arm right now instead of this.
Have you experienced this same thing in your life? Someone saying hurtful things to you? Someone acting like a tyrant in your life? Someone making you feel unworthy and not good enough? If the answer is yes, you are not alone. There are so many people out there right now being hurt by someone else’s painful words.
Why do words have to hurt so much…Why? And more importantly, how do we find the courage and strength to move past this when it happens in our life?
Many think it will take a miracle to move past it all. A miracle to finally feel whole again. For me, I don’t think it will take a miracle…I think it will just take a little bit of magic.
So, I am asking…Do you believe in magic?
You don’t have to be a magician to use this kind of magic. Interestingly enough, you have had the magic power within you this whole time (kind of like Dorothy on the Wizard of Oz). You just maybe never had the courage and strength to use it. The answer to move past all of these painful, hurtful words in life are simply this…To Believe in the Magic of You! To believe in yourself!
You see, when someone tries to cut us down or hurt us with their words, all this is doing is revealing the lack of confidence they have in their own life. But if we chose to believe them, well then, that reveals ours. It shows our lack of confidence in who we truly are.
To my fellow blog follower dealing with this & everyone else out there that is putting up with hurtful words right now, you know the true you. Nobody else does! Do not let this person in your life put doubt in your head about the type of person you are or the type of person you are trying to be. Use your magic power and choose instead to believe in yourself! It may even be necessary to write it down. Write down who you are and who you want to be as a parent, as a spouse, and as an overall human being. When we put it down in ink, we can then use that as a daily reminder, so we never forget or let anyone else try to tell us who we are. Instead, we will believe in the person that we know we really are inside.
Sticks and stones will most likely break our bones, but words…maybe they really don’t have to hurt so much. When you need it, find the strength and courage to pull out that magic power you have and believe in yourself! Believe in YOU!
I am ready to believe in magic! The question is: Are you ready?
Xoxo
Marsha
*For those of you struggling with something in life or have a topic of interest that you want me to talk about in this blog, email me at BeYourBestSelfBlog@gmail.com. Let’s work together to Be Our Best Selves!
Photo Credit: Photo by Olya Kobruseva from Pexels
Resources: “Sticks and Stones.” Wikipedia, 31 May, 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sticks_and_Stones