I credit my mother with my love of reading. When I was young she would take my sister and me to the public library on a regular basis. I loved everything about the library. The quiet refuge. The smell of the books. I could stay all day reading the titles and devouring the book covers.
I remember getting my own library card and standing at the counter waiting anxiously for the librarian to check us out. Meticulously, she would tuck each date stamped card into the rightful book and then she would slide the stack across the counter to me. I remember standing there tip-toed in order to reach them.
I know that this early love of reading was where my fascination with words began. The meaning of words. Finding new words. Getting excited about interesting words that I had never heard before. As I read I found that words could create fantastic images. That they had the power to transport you to another place and another time. That time could actually stand still.
I truly believe that words have power. They have the power to lift us up and inspire us. They have the power to tear us down and destroy us.
Dr. Maya Angelou said that “Words are things. Be careful about the words you use or the words you allow to be used in your home.”
Her words remind me to pay close attention to what I say. To be careful about the words that I put out into the world. To be mindful of how my words will be heard and remembered.
As a writer, I am always searching for the perfect words. The exact right thing to say. I am finding out, however, that there are no right or perfect words. There are only words that I prefer more than others. My hope is that the words I choose, my words, will lift up and inspire those around me.
