Power to Wither or Heal

“We seldom know the influence of the words we speak, for we cannot see into the hearts of those who hear them. But language has power to wither or heal; and, if we are to avoid victimizing others, the manner in which we address them must be guided by our respect for their humanity…

“If each of us would only try to be aware of the influence of what we say, I believe all of us might find our paths more brightly-lit.”

–Robert Sexton

“Kindness requires so little. It is composed of a gentleness, tolerance, and a respect for the dignity of others. It costs nothing. But when a person chooses to exercise it, they reveal their own belief in the value of life itself. And when they rest their heads at night, the rewards of having lived another day must be evident in the peace that comes to them.
–Robert Sexton

About these ads

About russtowne

My wife and I have been married for over 33 years. We have 3 adult children and recently became grandparents for the first time, with a second one on the way! I founded, own, and operate an investment management and advisory firm. My wife is a Special Ed teacher for Kindergartners and First Graders. In addition to our family and friends and my profession, my passions include writing poetry, song lyrics, and non-fiction short stories; tending a fern garden and small redwood grove on our property, hiking in ancient old-growth redwood forests, and watching old movie classics.
This entry was posted in Awareness, Kindness, Quotes I Love and tagged , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

8 Responses to Power to Wither or Heal

  1. jolynproject says:

    Wow. I needed this reminder today. Thank you.

    • russtowne says:

      You’re welcome, Jolyn. I wonder how often I have inadvertantly withered someone with my words, or worse, done it on purpose in anger or frustration over the years.

      Russ

      • jolynproject says:

        Yeah that would be interesting to see how many times we do that without thinking it or doing it on purpose. I did not want to do that to someone today because I knew I would regret it. Although, I am not a big yeller or anything so I doubt I would’ve been too bad. lol But still, I want to come into it with positive energy so this comes in handy.

        • russtowne says:

          I’m glad it was timely for you, Jolyn. I’d love to have a timely reminder when I’m about to say something that might hurt another. I guess that is partly what a conscience is for. Where is Jiminy Cricket when I need him? ;-D!

          Russ

  2. Your thoughtful selection of quotes reveal what matters most in your life. I am so proud, so honoured to meet a man who lives for kindness and compassion. Truly. Sharon

    • russtowne says:

      Thank you, my friend. Your beautiful message came at a perfect time for me as my morning had not started out well. Your comment warmed my heart and put a smile on my face. Today is going to be another beautiful day. Thank you for your reminder and your friendship, Sharon.
      Russ

  3. I do not just “like” this. I LOVE this! ♥ paula

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out / Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out / Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out / Change )

Connecting to %s