Let Your Words Strengthen You, Not Break You

Imagine a world in which all the words you speak appear on your skin, a world in which every word you speak gets written on your body in bold ink for the world to see.

It cannot be erased. It cannot be washed off. It cannot be covered up. It is out there for the world to see.

Every word you’ve ever spoken, written in the most beautiful calligraphy tying together the fibers of your skin cells. And every time you go to speak to someone, they can see all the words you’ve ever said, covering your body. Every time you open your mouth, the pen touches your skin.

How different our ideas of beauty would be. Because a world in which the words you speak appear on your skin, would mean our insides are on our outside. It would mean that the evil words we say to just one person, all of a sudden are on display.

It would mean the real you, the real you inside of you, would be out in the open. It would mean we couldn’t hide from what we are.

A world in which the words you speak appear on your skin would mean that we would be forced to fall in love with the words a person speaks, the amount of kindness that bleeds out of them. It would mean we would have to watch what we say.

So why don’t we just do that now?

Why don’t we recognize the power of words now? Because here’s the thing, words are my friend but sometimes they can lie to me, label me, hurt me and reject me. Sometimes my words become contaminated with the poison of other people’s words. Sometimes I allow myself to conform to the way other people speak, even though the words are not as enchanting as they should be.

Words are meant to be magnetic, enticing, and rhythmic. Words should be the sweetest piece of candy that touches our tongue, not the steaming water that burns it. Words should embrace and not reject, words should kiss and not bite. Words should be as steady as a concrete wall, not as shaky as a stack of hay.

Words should not punch us on our already bruised arm, but they should be the gentle touch that heals the black and blue marks, sending a feeling of relief through our bodies.

We should talk with our mouths the way our feet would walk on eggshells. We should take care and handle them with gentle ease, we should use them to fall in love and not fall apart.

Words can flawlessly form poetry and viciously suffocate us all at the same time.

Words stay with us, long after they’re said. Words are the way people perceive other people, the way we inspire other people and the way we caress other people. But words are also the way we slash other people, judge other people and intoxicate other people.

If words were written on our skin, wouldn’t we have so much more of the music than the cacophony?