This will sound strange coming from me

(but you’ve no idea how strange yet)…

Words matter less than nobility.

Words can be abused. Listeners abuse words as much as speakers.

The clever shape words.

The clever speaker makes magic, black magic and white magic. The clever listener turns words into what they like.

What we say matters. How we say it matters. It matters that we know the words we want and that we know how to use the words we know.

Certainty of purpose matters more.

I can say, in pure honesty, that I want to become a multi-millionaire.

I can also say in as pure honesty that I want that because I want to help other people succeed.

The former comment might cause some lips to curl in disgust. The latter might cause some people to roll their eyes. Possibly the same people.

People will misunderstand when they want to, and they’ll understand when they want to.

The best I can hope is that the words I use align with my purpose, and that my purpose is noble enough to deserve respect.

I am keenly aware that it’s possible to use a word to reach into other minds and twist their thoughts and their hearts and realign their souls. I have a measure of that power; I understand the abusing of it.

I cannot stop the dark magic users from twisting spoken psychic messages and turning hate into inspiration and love into a weapon. And I can’t stop the truly decisive from sucking my words into the unchangeable world behind their eyes where all I have to say is twisted, regardless of how careful I am.

I can speak with care, and I can take care to mean what I say. That’s what I can manage. Some will hear me. Some won’t. I’m aware I have a responsibility to be careful, and I’m aware that all the care in the world will not change some people.

And I’m aware that I have a responsibility to listen to people as much as to the words they choose to say.