366: One Story Per Day (2024)

Day 132 - Do Words Hurt?

     A young woman named Maya lived in the town of Verdena. Maya was a staunch believer in the power of words, having witnessed directly how they could change people's lives. However, as she went about her daily routines, she couldn't help but question if words weren't as strong as they appeared.

     Maya's beliefs on the subject were tested one fateful day when she became caught in a heated disagreement with a close friend. The insults came fast and furious, each one more stinging than the previous until Maya felt as if she had been slashed open with a razor-sharp blade.

     As she nursed her bruised pride in the aftermath of the argument, Maya couldn't escape the sensation that words were more than simply a tangle of letters linked together. She felt they possessed power, the ability to raise or demolish, heal or harm.

     However, when Maya pondered on the encounter in the days that followed, she began to rethink her own beliefs about the meaning of words. Were they as strong as she had always imagined, or were they only symbols with no meaning unless given importance by the listener?

     To delve deeper into this concept, Maya sought advice from an elderly sage who resided on the outskirts of town. The sage was renowned for his intellectual insights and ability to shed light on life's most profound riddles.

     As Maya shared her emotions with the sage, he listened closely, nodding thoughtfully as she talked. When she finished, he smiled kindly and gave her a new perspective on the situation.

     "My dear Maya," the wise man said, "words are indeed powerful, but their power lies not in the letters themselves, but in the meaning we ascribe to them. When we allow ourselves to be hurt by words, it is not the words themselves that cause the pain, but the meaning we attach to them."

     Maya listened closely as the elder continued to explain his viewpoint. He described how words were like empty vessels ready to be filled with meaning. He stated it was up to the listener to interpret the meaning of those statements and decide whether to accept or reject them.

     Maya examined the sage's comments and knew he was correct. The anguish she felt during her disagreement with her friend stemmed not from the words themselves, but from the meaning she connected to them. She had let herself be hurt by words that had no power over her until she gave it to them.

     With her newfound insight, Maya went out to implement the sage's advice to her own life. She determined not to be harmed by words again, to take control of the meaning she gave them, and to know that their power was ultimately in her hands.

     Maya approached language with renewed freedom and empowerment after that day. She welcomed them as empty vessels, ready to be filled with whatever meaning she decided to give them. As a result, she discovered a hitherto unknown sensation of calm and liberty.