With Your Lips You Can Change the World

With Your Lips You Can Change the World

By Raymond Kemp

Our language towards one another is the principle way we show respect, particularly when there is a recurring meeting between people, the consistency of speech and the way people are treated create an environment of comfort or discomfort.

Depending on the part of the US your foundation was laid, you’ve probably heard these two common maxims or sayings: You teach people how to speak to you by the way you speak to them Treat people the way you want to be treated In our current worldwide climate these are particularly good rules to consider. By the way there is a global pandemic that is still raging like the movie “World War Z”. And the world now knows the inequities of living Black in America as protests for change continue; not only in the United States but on every inhabited continent. Meanwhile many Americans long for the drunkenness of entertainment over the reality that this pandemic is sending people to their grave at a steady pace. Herman Caine for example, said masks were ridiculous and this was a hoax but, he was dead 30 days after he attended an rally with a group of fellow “hoax” believers. COVID-19 seems very similar to racism, it isn’t real until you have experienced it, and once you experience you’re a believer for life.

Treating people with dignity, respect, equity, and inclusion are a part of our inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. YOU have more of an impact on the perception of these rights than you may think.

Speaking life and being the encourager to others is fulfilling and satisfying. Think of the time when someone significant gave you a compliment, personal or professional, do you remember that feeling? Do you remember when someone gently challenged you to do something that was a bit beyond your capabilities but, you persevered and met the goal? A subtle measure of encouragement will go a long way and create a outward measure of comfort, an “I believe” notion for our family, friends, associates, and strangers. I was running White Rock Lake and some random stranger says to me, “great pace”; and onward I went without the thought of slowing down crossing my mind until I completed the circumference of the path. Those words lifted my confidence and they were from a stranger. That can be you, offering encouraging words to someone lift them higher than you know.

You have total control of the words that you say. Every word that proceeds out of your mouth, you are in total control. A way for us to change the world is to STOP SAYING NEGATIVE STUFF. This sounds simple and it is. I was listening to a podcast the other day and the guest (Trevor Moawad) commented, ‘that the words people speak are 10 times more powerful than if they just think it, and negativity is a multiple 4-7 times more powerful than positivity’. Examples of people saying something negative, aloud, and then it occurs are ubiquitous but I will share one: In an interview 12 days before the World Series Bill Buckner said, ‘the nightmare is to lose on run scored on a ground ball through you legs’; which he then became famous for. So, lets stop. Stop saying negative things, especially to others. No more insensitive, racist, misogynistic comments to anyone. No matter how subtle a comment may be, it may hit its target with the precision of a Harpoon Missile causing grave damage to another person. Instead let’s follow the lead of Jim Kwik, instead of allowing negative thoughts to dwell, lets “Stomp A.N.Ts.”! (Automatic, Negative, Thoughts)

Driving through town one afternoon I encountered a flashmob that abruptly stopped traffic. A group of protestors jumped out with a speaker and microphone, and began to make proclamations about their cause. As I felt a rise in my own irritation I paused and thought about what must be on their mind. Besides what they were shouting about. They were so compelled and so passionate about their cause that they risked their lives in an unauthorized protest that shocked and stopped traffic in this major thoroughfare, in the middle of downtown. Isn’t it interesting how we are so pressed about driving that sometimes the driver will toot their horn with an expectation someone walking will rush across the street or parking lot? Isn’t that peculiar? A person sitting in a climate controlled environment, likely outfitted with their favorite music and/or movies, drinks, and most creature comforts one can think of, hands free phone included…so privileged and so impatient with someone’s walking pace that honking their horn, from within this luxurious environment, to express their intolerance at having to wait on the pace of the walker’s gate or the glide in their stride, SMH. So privileged is the driver, we can not wait. As I listened to the protestors speak with boldness about their cause, making declarations about how they should be treated, thoughts of Patrick Henry and John Lewis flooded into my mind. Those two patriots and their voices, their protests, and their passion is borne again in this group. I honked my horn in support as they drove away, flags blazing, hands out the window, and though that was my only means of supporting the moment it felt good and was memorable. And now as I see those folks, I have become more compassionate. All because I listened instead of complaining, held onto the reigns of my thoughts like a cowboy until I learned something in my silence.

As we continue to stay home and stay safe let us begin now, in our small groups of family and friends we live with, to treat people with dignity and respect. Let us begin now to use words of affirmation, acts of kindness and service as we make infrequent trips outside of the house and interact with the Grub Hub & Uber Eats, Amazon, and our extremely reliable postal service. Begin now to practice the art of lifting the countenance of others with encouragement and stomping ANTs whenever we see & hear them, in person and online. We can do our part to change the world, with our lips.

None of us, no one living on earth at this moment started the inequities we endure today however, every one of us can do something about it. Encourage yourself often with these 10 two-letter words: IF IT IS TO BE IT IS UP TO ME.

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