Let’s talk about words. Words are the most powerful tool we have, in my opinion, of course. Build you up;tear you down. Save a life;take a life. I’m going to go back a few years to when I was in 1st grade. Ok, maybe more than a few, but who’s counting. A boy that was sitting across from me at lunch was acting a fool and getting in trouble. I was staring and watching inquisitively. I was fascinated by human behavior even back then. Always been an observer. People watching…top of my list. Anyway, as he was being sent to the principal’s office, he turned around to pick up his lunch. He saw me staring and quickly snapped, “What are you looking at big eyes?” before he was whisked away. Big eyes? This was news to me! So I walked straight into the kitchen when I got off the bus and asked my mom, “Mommy, do I have big eyes? “???? She emphatically said, “Yes, of course!” I crumbled into tears, and my world was crushed. My mom tried her hardest to recover and say, “you have big beautiful blue eyes that light up every room you walk into.” Too late, damage done, the show is over. Years! Literally for years!!! I hated my eyes. Despite the fact that it was one of the most common compliments I received, and still is, nothing seemed to change. It was long into adulthood that I really started to reflect into those words, “BIG EYES,” and why I had let them become a part of how I saw myself. Things I know now: *if someone puts you down, it’s more about them than it is about you *words only have as much power as you allow them to have *perception is reality, but your perception can be changed *don’t let what other people think about you define you, it’s their perception not yours *don’t ignore the thousand compliments while you’re focused on the one negative comment *choose your words wisely, they may become someone else’s internal dialogue *don’t let other people’s external dialogue become your internal dialogue *my momma was right, I have big beautiful eyes that light up every room I walk in to Be kind to yourself and others… Be Well!