(The words are to be taken as a sarcastic comment)
Compared to the size of a human, bullets are small, but the size of the devastation they can cause when fired from a gun into a human body (or any other living creature).........is often enormous.
Such small objects, yet so deadly and destructive, well not on their own, but when loaded into a gun of some sort.
Early one morning, 5:30 am, I awoke to a loud banging on my front door. I ran downstairs with my heart pounding, wondering what fresh new hell had arrived at my doorstep.
I opened the door and there before me stood two uniformed, big, and serious looking police officers.
(I knew they were serious because they were both armed with guns, their car had the "juicer" on, and I could hear a voice talking on their radio.)
Without much ado, they burst into my living-room. "Name and address, please" one of them said.
This close-up to an armed police officer was a first for me, and I have to admit, I was quite frazzled.
"What is happening, why are you here?" I asked. As far as I could ascertain, they were chasing someone who was dealing in drugs and weapons, but they had obviously been given the wrong address.
Looking around my small apartment, I think they quickly realized their error and just as suddenly as they had shown up, they disappeared. That, I am fortunate to say, is the closest I have ever been to a loaded, or unloaded, gun.
Sometimes I wonder if "words" can perhaps be likened to bullets, perhaps even as "weapons of mass-destruction"?
We say something in the heat of a moment, we know that the words will hurt and possibly damage a relationship, but we "fire" them nonetheless. Whether we feel that we are protecting ourselves or not, once we have fired those bullets (=words we know will hurt), the damage is done, and at times the consequences can have long lasting and devastating effects.
A bullet lodged in a body must be removed for healing to take place, and in my view, this also applies to hurtful words. Although, it may perhaps at times be easier to physically remove a bullet than hurtful words....
In heated discussions, misunderstandings and confrontations we can often "fire away" words like bullets that we later regret: "oh yeah, and you are fat! or "oh yeah, but you are an idiot!" or "oh yeah, but you are a liar!"....etc. etc.
And just like real bullets, the words hurt and cause damage, sadly, sometimes irreparably so.
"I am sorry" according to Elton John, are the hardest words to say, but I believe they go a long way in assisting healing after harsh words have been exchanged.
So, why is it so hard for some of us to say "sorry"?
Well, we want to be "right"....saying sorry means acknowledging that we did/said something wrong.
It can be hard to apologize if we feel uncertain of how the apology will be received: "what if he/she/they reject my apology?"
Some of us may hold the view that saying sorry is a sign of weakness, and to apologize may alter one's status.
In a world of "winners" and "losers", apologizing for some of us may be viewed as reversing the roles: giving an apology makes you a "loser", and the person receiving the apology becomes a "winner".
We all have an ego, and saying sorry can be hard for the ego to take, so pride often gets in the way.
But here's the thing, when we take ownership and responsibility for our own words and actions, apologize if we have said or done something that hurt someone, we show others that we care.
Chances are, that just as much as we appreciate when someone apologizes to us, others appreciate when we apologize to them.
Bullets, in difference to words, are often final, words however, can be stretched, re-defined, explained, exchanged, elaborated on, translated, interpreted, and so on, .....words,... are malleable.
Bullets?...not so much.
Perhaps it may prove prudent to find a "safety catch" that will assist us in not accidentally firing off "bullets" even in ever so heated situations? Actually, I do believe there may be one: "think before you speak."
In the event of the safety catch failing, how wonderful is it not that we have words that can bring healing: "I am so sorry that I hurt you".
"Sorry is a bridge, not a bullet." (Citizen Z)
No comments:
Post a Comment