A couple of weeks ago I had the thought occur to me, like a red whirling warning light. This illumination came surprisingly enough while watching the auditions shows of So You Think You Can Dance. (Hey, mock if you will, but Jessica and I like this show.) The guest judge/choreographer Mia Michaels in an effort to compliment a guy dancer after a really great audition said, "You are so stupid." That is what got me to thinking...
It seems like the fashionable way to talk in the world is to use negative words to describe good things, thus making good into evil and evil into good.
For example, pay attention to how often you hear people try to describe something excellent or praiseworthy by using adjectives like "bad", "phat", "stupid", "ugly", "gnarly", "wicked" etc. (Feel free to comment with other words you are now hearing regularly.)
Now I don't necessarily think this is a cause of the world turning more wicked, but I do think it is a symptom. Bishop Smith in our old Star 1st Ward often spoke about how the words we use and even think have a huge impact in our mental and spiritual well-being. So, as for me and my household, we are going to try and eliminate the use of negative words to describe good things.
4 comentarios:
I totally agree with your old bishop. The words that we say and think definitely do effect our spirititual selves. Thanks for posting!
Finding myself back in the classroom, after a few years hiatus, I have come to the same realization. The other realization that I have come to,is that because of media and lack of parenting our generation is raising children who believe they can say whatever they want whenever they want, and then just say, "I was just kidding", or "I was just being sarcastic." Unfortunately, I see it not only at school, but in my home.
Because so few of us realize the impact the words we say have, we have allowed what we thought was nothing spiral out of control. I am in schock at the things I hear, that seem to be "acceptable" now.
I found your blog from the blog "The Stewardship". The Dad on that blog grew up in our old ward. How do you know them? I love your post about words. The people who make little short positive comments on my blog just make my day....positive words in my life do much to make my days happy! Thanks for the reminder about the power our words have for good or ill!
When my parents were married, the sealer counseled them to avoid sarcasm because it is Satan's counterfeit of a good sense of humor. I think President Hinckley was an excellent example of that. He would never put anyone down- even in jest.
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