Words Matter

"It's all good.." Is it? When I hear a phrase like that, my proverbial panties get all twisted up. I have a pet peeve about using expressions that I deem as vapid speak. What does that expression really mean and what are you trying to convey? Or is it just a sound noise used to fill in the gap of a sentence or response. Here are a few more examples: “You know”; “riiight”; “I’m all about that." The latest ‘in phrase’, “I know riiiiiiight,” bugs the literal crap out of me. It’s been around for awhile and normally in the realm of use of the Y generation but it’s infiltrated into a more global usage. Well perhaps saying global is stretching it. I heard it on E! News, afterall.I had to switch off the station after hearing the hosts exchange tidbits ending with “I know riiiiiiiiight?” What is so “riiiiiiiiiiight” about it? Isn’t it all rather wrong?

I’ve been pondering my peeve as to exactly why it bugs me. I thought it was because using a vacuous phrase spoke to the level you are relating to someone. If you are just filling in the gaps in the sentence, are you “phoning” your conversation in? How are you really relating to the other person? Are you finding meaningful words to convey your thoughts or just using what is convenient? Not all conversations warrant a deep response. And “I know riiiiiiiiiight” is a confirmation of what the other person is saying. I wonder though, because I tend to ponder things deeply, whether we know exactly what we are agreeing to.

How many times have we all used a phrase that is a popular expression without any understanding of the power of words? Words create everything here. They put thoughts into action. I have a phrase, “if people knew what they were really doing, they would just stop it.” If we all truly understood how our pervasive thoughts and words create our own reality, we wouldn’t use words so flippantly. We would use care and say what we really mean and want. Today I realized that what truly bugs me about “vapid speak.” Words do having meaning and we need to pay attention to what we are saying, how we are saying it, and who we are speaking to. I have the bad habit of using, "ok" to move along a conversation with someone I don't agree with. Then when I hear someone say ok to me, I wonder if they are saying ok, if they are truly saying, ok, I agree or rather the opposite. I wonder this because I myself am not using the expression properly. I need to stop and find a different way to handle that situation.

How often do you say yes to something when you really mean no? But saying yes, means yes, and people and the world respond to it. Mean what you say and say what you do. Words lose their meaning when we don't value what they mean or act upon them accordingly. I've lost faith in what a person says if that person hasn't remained true to his or her's own words. The world might be more quiet if everyone headed their words... But those words spoken would be worth listening to...