Speak Life

Words are less powerful than many would lead others to believe.

Words only have the power granted them by their audience.

If the audience chooses not to listen, or to simply disregard, then words are powerless.

From my experience, it seems that most people are more inclined to give more power to negative words received, than to anything potentially helpful that goes against what they want to believe (and/or to interpret potentially helpful words negatively, when those would-be helpful/positive words contradict what they would prefer to believe).

I guess my point was this:

Words are not what’s powerful; listening is.

Words can’t make anyone do anything; but a listener can decide to act, based on words they interpreted.

If words can’t make people do things, and it is rather those people who are instead responsible for their own actions… then words are, by definition, powerless.

Words cannot Act. They cannot “Do,” anything at all. They can only “exist,” and be interpreted by the interpretive efforts applied to them by a third party.

I know, because i’ve tested the limits of the “power” of words; they have none. The “power” lies in the audience, how they interpret, and what they decide. But the words themselves aren’t actually Doing anything, and cannot accomplish anything at all, without a receptive audience.

Once upon a time, someone to whom i have written more words than i will ever write for any one person, ever again, said: “…and i know you know the power of words…” and then proceeded to utterly ignore and disregard all of my words, except for the cases where those words were twisted into the most negative possible interpretations. This is the “power” of words. They only have the power granted by their audience. The audience can make them powerless, or can twist them into something for which they were never intended, and then use that twisted interpretation as an excuse to take Action.

“Anything you say, can and will be used against you…”

This, is the “power” of words. It is nothing the listener does not allow it to be. Since the “power” depends entirely upon how much credence they are given by their interpreter… i have to say that the words, themselves, have no power at all.