Y'all Come Sit a Spell

Good morning from the Grove, where the coffee is hot, the pups have had breakfast, the sun is rising, and the air outside is glorious.

My personal mantra?  Words have Power.

That simple idea reaches into so many parts of life. Words can comfort us, encourage us, and help us understand one another. They can also wound, frighten, divide, and persuade. The words we choose matter, so I try to take the time to choose them with care.

Words shape our feelings, and feelings can shape our choices. The way we speak to ourselves matters, too. Mindset isn’t everything, but it can change how we meet a hard day, a new opportunity, or another person. What we send into the world has a way of finding its way back to us, even if it doesn’t always return in the same form or on our preferred schedule.

And this power belongs to more than the words we say. Advertisers understand how a phrase or image can stir up desire or fear. News writers know that the words in a headline can frame a story before we’ve read a single detail. Political ads… don’t get me started. Propaganda and manipulation often depend on getting us to react before we have time to think.

That’s why choosing words carefully also means listening carefully. We have to be critical consumers of what we take in. Who is speaking? What do they want us to feel or believe? What might be hidden behind the smoke and mirrors? A strong emotional reaction can be a reason to pause and look closer.

“Words have Power” reminds me to be thoughtful about what I put into the world and thoughtful about what I allow to shape my view of it. It’s a small mantra with a lot of room inside it.

Speaking of our views of the world, I hope you’ve joined our October Cryptid Study. We’re exploring the myths and mysteries of cryptids, and the stories people have carried home from the woods. I love thinking about what those stories say about the people who tell them, and leaving a little room for the possibility that the world still holds things we can’t explain.