Sticks and Stones

/ Jodi

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Sticks and Stones…
can break our bones.
But bones can heal.

Words…
can harm us deeply.
And they can be hard to heal from.

As I looked at this photo I took last week
of a charming old building made of stone
and covered with twisted, tangled sticks,

it reminded me of the old childhood adage
“Sticks and stones may break my bones,
but words will never hurt me.”

And I realized how absurd that is…

I have suffered through
my share of broken bones in my life,
but they have healed.

There are words, however,
that have been spoken
that have changed my life forever.

Choose your words carefully…
Consider their power.
Words can seriously hurt.

But also know
words have the power
to love and heal.

They have the power
to build up
rather than tear down.

They have the power
to create positive change
now and forever.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

43 thoughts on “Sticks and Stones”

  5. This post is wonderful Jodi because it is so true! I recently was thinking about that childhood chant, “sticks and stones can break my bones but words will never hurt me.” I thought, that simply isn’t true because words can hurt me and my words can hurt others if I don’t choose my words carefully. Thanks for bringing attention to this. And, I love the photo! It really does look like the childhood chant.

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  6. Very true! I think the old adage was intended to strengthen us mentally and help us learn to deal with rejection and criticism, yet it certainly did overlook the tremendous power of words. Words can do so much damage. We need to watch them carefully.

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  10. I have always hated this little rhyme because like you say it is nonsense. I have words spoken over me from years ago try to re-visit, it is a difficult one to get past. I am very sensitive about words and how I form my words towards and over people, especially children. Thank you for this post Jodi, so much truth rings in it.

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  18. That is one old saying that simply wasn’t true! Physical wounds heal so much more quickly than the wounds caused by ugly, hateful words. How is it that we understand that hurting someone physically is wrong, but don’t always remember that using hurtful words, whether to someone’s face or even behind their back, is also so very wrong? Thanks for the reminder to make sure that our words are never weapons, and that they can also heal, calm and uplift!

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  20. Perhaps when we were very young the words to this old adage might have been true…when silly words didn’t hurt…but as we got older the words became stronger and more painful…so your advice is so true! 🙂

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