Tongues of Thorns and Petals

"Why are you getting disturbed with what I have said? It was nothing to get angry about." I didnt realise why would she get angry with me for something as trivial as a statement, " The rice was not cooked properly, maybe next time I should make it".

Have you ever thought of why the person would get disturbed by the words that are being spoken by you. There are times when we really cant understand why people are so sensitive to the words used in our statements.

Last year, we had a case in Mumbai where a political leader passed away due to old age and a couple of girls made a very daunting remark against him on facebook. It was surprising to learn that they were imprisoned and made to endure mental anguish over the comment. The followers of the political leader took it into their stance to ensure the family and relatives of the girls were subject to public humiliation.

Luckily for them, there were high and mighty supporters who supported their freedom of speech and had the case against them revoked. The said party also had the ire of the public when the whole nation was in uproar against the said act.

I am not condoning what the girls did or praising the followers of going the right path. It was a simple statement that should not have had anything more than request to delete the comment. But think from the point of the people who read the comment and made their actions follow. If the comment was not placed in the broad forum, maybe the girls would not have been subjected to the harrowing experience for themselves and their families. Especially in an emotionally charged society as ours.

An example of this isolated case maybe just the tip of the ice berg. There are many such instances that happen in our daily lives that dont lead up to such drastic events that have a dire result. We need to look at our daily lives and the conversations that take place in our homes, offices, malls, shops, road, etc.

More than the listener, I think the person who is saying the words should be careful and not use words that may hurt the sentiment of the other. Not because of what the other person may think, but just as a matter of respect for the individual. 

The other reason for one to be careful with their words is because once it is said, it can never be taken back. The wrong words can and will be held against the person who is saying it. Examples as mentioned above and  our very own politicians who say something in public but later retract their statement. Their excuse is that the media reported it wrongly and was misinterpreted. While their example is not to be followed it is an example to learn from.

A man/woman who says one thing and does another is a person of low value and principles. Such people loose faith and trust very often in their surroundings. In contrary, one who stands by what he/she says and follows it in principle is always worthy of the others trust.

While in college, I had a classmate who would boast of being good in every sport that one would speak of. His boasts were brought to light when there was sporting event and invariably he would hurt himself in the first practise session and would attribute his bad performance to the injury. While we didnt make much of it once or twice, the repeated action and motive of just gaining fame out of his boasts, the truth came to light at a later stage and he was humiliated when he never made the team.

We speak to share our thoughts but we never try to protect the words that are spoken. We fence our houses to be warded off by trespassers, we lock away our valuables to avoid it being stolen. We polish our cars so that it shines in the glorious view of the envious. Why can we not safeguard our words in order for it to be safe from the world and its abuse?

The world is a beautiful place but with people who are there to take advantage of what you say. If we were to churn the thorns from our words and turn them to petals would we not be altruist in our ways. Words of thanks, praise, appreciation, gratitude and honesty are often missed in a conversation.

Would not the world be a better place if we were to share kind words rather than harsh hurting words? If we start the practise at home it will spread its tentacles to the coffers of the office and the other places that we visit. 

Would the anger and hate that exists in individuals not be vanquished when these tongues of petal are not put to use more often? It creates a thought in my mind to why would we not be able to say such words of kindness and avoid the words that bring the confidence of people down or hurt their sentiments.

We then have a road to choose, do we want to use the tongues of thorns or of petals. The outcome is very indicative of what is to be.... It is your choice!