Whilst I’ve always been aware of how powerful words can be, and how they can be used to hurt or help, this knowledge was confirmed to me during the last few days.
An issue had arisen between a close-knit circle of both family and friends. It was clear to me that much had been distorted in the telling. I decided to write a group letter to all involved. Surely, this would ensure that everyone would read and understand the same message? It didn’t!
One member only saw the phrases that fuelled her anger; one wouldn’t pass on the letter to two of the other nominated recipients because she thought they weren’t involved and gave them to my sister instead of returning them to me, and one has made no comment at all but I didn’t expect him to.
It confirmed to me that you can give the same letter to five different people and they will all read something different. The same could be said of something that they might see.
It’s been a frustrating exercise and I’ve distanced myself from this group because I’ve realised that whilst my intent was to help, it clearly wasn’t perceived that way.