Words of Inspiration and Action

BY ARLENE HARDER, MA, MFT

From words that change our minds to stories that inspire forgiveness, these articles of inspiration show the simple power of words to influence our lives.

Language exerts hidden power, like a moon on the tides.

Rita Mae Brown

Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind.

Rudyard Kipling

Works of imagination should be written in very plain language; the more purely imaginative they are the more necessary it is to be plain.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Language can be a powerful force. It can create war or build peace. Unfortunately, we often don't think about the words we use or the words we hear. We simply talk and listen (often far more of the former and less of the latter than would be good for us).

In this section I encourage you to explore how certain words—such as quotations, affirmations, facts, phrases and questions—have caused you to shift your perspective on a topic and/or to express a positive quality in your life. Or perhaps you will find here words that are enriching, inspiring, motivating, and uplifting in some way and can help you live a kinder and more peaceful life.

Also, in this section I have included words that encourage you to make a difference in the world — if the words are taken to heart and put into action. When I think of making a difference, I don't suggest you have to do something that will change the world all by itself. Rather, I believe you can make a great difference by doing any of a thousand small, simple things with love.

If you doubt the impact of seemingly inconsequential acts, notice what happened at a zoo where one trash can was disguised as a lion—with a voice-activating system that had the lion growl "Thank you" when a child threw in a bit of trash. Not only was the area next to the trash can spotless, but you couldn't find a scrap of paper or candy wrapper in the whole zoo!

So in these pages you'll find articles with ideas that can have a ripple effect on the world at large.

In these pages, and elsewhere in Support4Change, you will find sidebars offering "A Small Gesture of Love." The idea for these came from the "Loving Endearments" in the newsletters of Judith Sherven and James Sniechowski, a talented husband-and-wife therapist team. They know from personal and professional experience that many seemingly "minor" things we do and say for another person can make a major difference in their lives and in the world at large, as they wrote in their newsletter on March 29, 2002, (reprinted with permission).

"Large, grand gestures are wonderful when you can make them happen. But real, long-lasting, day-to-day love is made up of countless little things. They are the brick and mortar of what two people build together. The grand gestures are like chandeliers, or swimming pools, or expensive silverware and china. They bring elegance and refinement and their own kind of beauty, a beauty that's hard to miss, but how often will you bring out the fine china, or keep the chandelier lit? And how often will you eat off your regular, daily plates and use the table lamp to give you the light you need?

We emphasize the small things because they are available everyday.

When we drive together, whether we're on a short or long trip, one of us will reach out and simply take the other's hand. Often we don't say anything about it. We just do it. It's a small moment that affirms and confirms our love for one another . . . and . . . all it takes is the realization of how important such a gesture can be and the willingness to follow through when the impulse arises.

Keep in mind the small endearments. They are the foundation."

Perhaps more than in other sections, here I especially invite you to share your words of inspiration and action, for what you know can make a difference for others. Everyone knows something that can make someone else's life better. Of course, what you know may not seem particularly significant because you may do it without effort. But what you know will, in all likelihood, be something that at least some of us would not have thought of.

As Gregory Bateson, the expert on systems and environment, once said, "Information is the difference that makes a difference." So you see, if you tell me something I didn't know and I make that a part of my world, you have made a difference in my life!