words, thoughts, feelings

some young friends invited me to go karaoke singing one time after a stressful workday.  just to unwind and release accumulated tension. i obliged and went with them.  it's nice to be around young people. they have this energy that is infectious and this gung ho attitude that spells fun and lightness of spirit even for a short while.

they drank beer and smoked and bantered a lot. all for camaraderie and laughter. all stresses and discomforts were being released. i joined in their fun and my inconveniences were dispelled as well. i know that these might come back, but, if only for a brief span of time my ill feelings, my hurts, my discomforts were forgotten.

i leafed through the big book of karaoke songs and scanned the titles. i need to carefully choose my piece. i need to sing one which is familiar with me and which tune i can carry.  i chose one by the bee gees -- words. it goes, "smile, an everlasting smile, a smile could bring you near to me ..."  

well, my song went well, if i may say so, since i did not receive any catcalls or boos from my youthful friends.  or perhaps, they just don't want to show disrespect?  ha, ha.  while sitting there sipping my cold coffee, the last paragraph of this beautiful song came back to my mind --

you think that i don't even mean
a single word i say
it's only words but words are all i have
to take your heart away.


i think there is great wisdom in these lyrics. we humans communicate our thoughts and feelings via language. via words. of course, most times, words are inadequate to express the exact meaning of what we want to convey. and yet, we have to express what we need someone else to know.

and so, i thought, this is why it is important that we choose our words well. once uttered, we cannot take them back. most human relationships get ruined in this way.  most pains, hurts, inconveniences, discomforts, and quarrels, result from our careless choice of words.

of course, careful use of words can also heal pains, hurts, discomforts and quell strife and fix misunderstandings. yet, better it is to prevent these negativities from ever happening than to take great effort to dispel them later.

when it was my time to sing again, i chose to sing the same song.  my youthful friends teased that i knew only one song. i just mischievously smiled and went on with my rendition.  when i came to the last  lines of the song this poem by that great american poet, emily dickenson, flashed in my mind's eye --

a word is dead
when it is said
some say,
i say it just 
begins to live
that day.

there is also so much wisdom in this little poem. 
 
every word is a reflection of Life. 

i watched my friends in their youthful banter. i silently offered a short prayer in my heart, that they may learn to choose their words well.  Life's still unfolding before them.