Do Your Words Matter?

When I was very young, I didn't speak much. I watched others and waited to see what the next event would be. Words mattered only slightly because I lived in a different world: one where every presence was noticed and colorful.

When I got a little older, I thought my words mattered. I thought others should listen to what I had to say because it was deep and ponderous and important. I still spoke little. And often people did listen because I'd spent years paying attention and learning. Much of what I said made sense.

Then I realized that what I said, my words, didn't matter as much as the meaning and force of them did. Sound contradictory? In a general way, it is. Over the years, I began to see my self as important as the deliverer of the significant words. One day, it struck me that it wasn't me ~ or any one person ~ who was the all-important deliverer of the words, it was how the words were formed, how they struck the soul, that made all the difference in the world.

What about you? Do your words matter? Why? or Why not?