Importance of Words (Once Again)

Yesterday and today, I practiced yoga. It was awesome. It's so good to listen to your body and really focus on breathing and smooth movements. After getting cleaned up, I sat down to watch the Today Show (shocking). There was a segment about how Johan Hill apologized on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon about a recent racial slur he spontaneously (and stupidly) blurted out to paparazzi. Basically, he was genuine. He knew he was wrong, and he talked about the importance of kindness.

Here are a few of this words on the matter:

"How you mean things doesn't matter. Words have weight and meaning."

"If you're watching this, and you're a young person especially, if someone says something that hurts you or angers you, use me as an example of what not to do. Don't respond with hatred or anger."

I had goosebumps listening to this. He made a valid point about the use of words. It really doesn't matter how we mean things because the truth is, people are still going to hear it. "Oh, I didn't mean to hurt you"... But you did.

It reminds me of a line in You've Got Mail. Tom Hanks's and Meg Ryan's characters are discussing the recent closing of her store. He said, "It's not personal." Her response to that was something like, "Why do people say that? Just because it's not personal to you, doesn't mean it's not personal to me."

I always tell my students to choose their words (usually after a swear word slips out), and while they may not take this that seriously, I do. We all need to choose our words because what affects us may not be the same as what affects others.

P.S. If you've never seen You've Got Mail, you really need to.