Check out your vocabulary. What are the words you use most often and which ones carry special meaning? Here are a few of my favourites that I call words of life.
- Hallelujah! This classic church word means praise God, fabulous, isn’t that wonderful. It rolls off my tongue when something particularly great happens. It means “praise God” or “thank you God” for this unbelievable blessing. It’s so much bigger than Hurray! Or Yea! When I shout Hallelujah! I feel my heart soar with joy of God’s Holy Spirit.
- Love! Now that’s a word that we often waste on silly things like “french fries” or “walking”. Love is a word that speaks of the sacredness of human relationships. When the words, “I Love you,” are spoken from deep within our hearts, we are telling someone, “You’re precious, God’s gift, a true blessing for me.” We know it’s important to tell our children, our spouse, our friend that we love them. Words of love can be the bread of life.
- At the end of my yoga class each week we close with the word “Namaste”. When we say, “Namaste” we are saying, “The Divine (God) in me greets the Divine (God) in you.” For me, “Namaste” speaks of the preciousness of each and every human being on earth. It brings to my attention that there is at least a bit of God in each and every one of us. When we use the word “Namaste,” we offer new life to others.
- For today, my last special word is actually often written in English as two – “Thank you.” Cultivating an attitude of gratitude can change your life. Too often today we live with a sense of entitlement. The media hammers us with – have a vacation, you deserve it. Buy a new car, you deserve it. When we learn to notice and give thanks for the many blessings that abound in our lives every day, our feelings of satisfaction and joy multiply.
I’m grateful I have these four words in my vocabulary. When I think about them and use them, they bring sunshine to my days. Take a few moments and list your four wonderful words of life.
“Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.”
(Proverbs 16:24)