Dear Ricki,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Words are strange. They mean nothing until they mean everything. We don\u2019t think about the words we say until it\u2019s too late – until they\u2019ve harmed someone or ourselves. We try and communicate one thing but our intent and our impact miss each other by a mile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your strength comes in your words. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
You choose your words carefully because you understand words matter<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You understand words have different meanings to different people, so you make the effort to explain what you mean. To say what you mean, and mean what you say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You ask for clarification when listening and offer it when speaking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Your strength comes in the way you recognize the power words hold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your words are never pretentious. You speak to be understood, not to be feared or emboldened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your words are kind. You choose words that uplift and inspire and engage those around you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your words are loving. You understand certain words matter to others and you use them often and with great care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your words are empathic. You understand there is always so much more to others\u2019 stories and you deliberately choose your words in a way that demonstrates you are a safe space for those stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your strength is in your words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You certainly aren\u2019t perfect. None of us are, after all. But you recognize you\u2019ll never get it right every time, so you try your best. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And when you fail?<\/p>\n\n\n\n You acknowledge. You accept. You thank. And you apologize if necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You receive criticism for your words with grace, and also a grain of salt. Because not every opinion is worth listening to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But you listen to those you have hurt. And you hear those you have hurt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You use your words as a tool for good. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When that tool is weaponized, you correct as quickly as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And then you move forward, because there is no glory in reliving past shame. There is no glory in beating ourselves up. There is no glory in self-destruction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your words are your strength. Words matter SO MUCH. You see it. You live it. And you encourage others to choose their words with love and care and kindness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thank you for your strength in words.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Dear Ricki, Words are strange. They mean nothing until they mean everything. We don\u2019t think about the words we say until it\u2019s too late – until they\u2019ve harmed someone or ourselves. We try and communicate one thing but our intent and our impact miss each other by a mile. Your strength comes in your words. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5574,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[82,136],"tags":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/roxannemerket.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Letters-to-Strong-Women-2.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/roxannemerket.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5573"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/roxannemerket.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/roxannemerket.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roxannemerket.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roxannemerket.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5573"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/roxannemerket.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5573\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5606,"href":"https:\/\/roxannemerket.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5573\/revisions\/5606"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roxannemerket.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5574"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/roxannemerket.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roxannemerket.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roxannemerket.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}