There's a reason our mothers warned us to "use our words".
Usually, this is a technique to stop children from being physical with one another, hopefully leading to their solving a conflict by talking it out.
However, the older we get, the more we learn how words can truly have healing powers if used effectively.
Sometimes we may hear something that came in at just the right time, and made a world of difference.
Redditor Timely-Vehicle-7064 was curious to hear sentences people were told that proved to have healing powers, leading them to ask:
"What sentence did someone say once that accidentally healed a part of you?"
"Time Is A Precious Thing"
"I had been waiting in line to finalize my truck license after passing my test."
"It was really busy, but my ticket got called and I went through some paperwork with the clerk."
"I had to fill out one more form, so I said 'Its pretty busy in here. I'll go sit down, fill it out and grab another ticket so I don't waste anyone's time'."
"The lady said 'No it's okay, just fill it out here. Your time is just as good as anyone else's'."
"I'd never heard that before and it just shifted my perspective on not only my own self worth, but I have far more patience for others now also."- deadeyedonnie_
Grief Is Permanent, Pain Is Temporary..
"When I lost my father, some random customer said:"
"It doesn’t get better, it just gets different."
"That hit just the right spot to start healing."- cntdown
One Slow Step At A Time...
"A friend texted me, 'You don’t need to fix the whole year. Just fix the next hour'.”
"It helped me get out of bed."- GarbageJunior2614
Small Island Black History GIF by National Theatre Giphy
We Learn From Our Mistakes...
“'What happened to you changed the way I practice medicine'.”
"Years after I had a medical error, this was the physician who took care of me immediately after the error."- Pinkynarfnarf
Strength Comes In Many Forms
"Being kind is not a weakness in an unkind world."- Do_Not_Touch_BOOOOOM
Self Awareness Is An All-Too-Rare Gift..
“'You didn’t deserve that, even if you understood why it happened'.”- -It_is_what_it_is--
You Deserve This Way To Go GIF by Be Present Events Giphy
What Proof Do You Need...
"My therapist said, 'You don’t have to prove your pain for it to be real'.”
"I stopped defending myself after that."- Lopsided-Rub-79
You Can't Love Another Without Loving Yourself
"You should disappoint everyone else before you disappoint yourself."
"As a chronic people pleaser who always puts herself las,t this is something I live by now."- Sugarlips_80
Sometimes, The Only Way To Forgive Is To Let Go
"You don't have to forgive to move on."
"Sometimes you just outgrow the anger."- KindlyExplorer11
Sad Forgive Me GIF by Pudgy Penguins Giphy
The Value Of A Great Teacher Can Not Be Underestimated
"We were waiting backstage, all lined up for graduation and our names to be called."
"My 10th-grade English teacher held my shoulder, just as she did for everyone in front."
"When my name was called, she released my shoulder to signal my turn and pat me a couple times before whispering, 'I'm SO proud of you'."
"Nobody liked this teacher."
"She was THE b*tch as some students called her, but she was my favorite teacher, and once she told another teacher I was her favorite student when I passed her class during lunch, and they were just chatting."
"Called me in and was like, 'You see this one? She's my faaavorite student'."
"She said I 'actually gave effort'."
"As an Asian American who translates things for her parents to this day, I don't know the Canto word for 'proud'."
"I've never heard this word before."
"But on that day, HS graduation, my English teacher told me she was proud of me, and I sat on stage sobbing."- Endlessly_Scribbling
Everyone Has Their Own Struggles
"'Just because someone else has a broken leg doesn't mean your sprained ankle stops hurting'."
"It lanced the boil of 'your issues aren't big enough to require attention, stop whining' that I'd been raised with."
"There's been a domino effect from there, including the recognition that some of my issues were actually pretty flippin' big once I had 'permission' to deal with them."- kifflington
True Beauty Is On The Inside
"'You’re not ugly; you’re just not your own type'."
"I've had a lot of insecurity about my looks when I was younger, and that line of thinking helped me be less insecure about it."-TomReneth
season 1 surprise GIF by Dream Corp LLC Giphy
There Is Always Something To Be Learned
"An older coworker once told me, 'People who disappointed you also taught you boundaries'.”
"That flipped something in me."- GentleQuester
A Journey That Never Ends
"You don’t have to finish healing to deserve peace."- ConnectionApart9904
An Open Heart Is Needed To Welcome Someone In
"Someone said, 'You were never too much'."
"'They just didn’t have enough room'.”
"I cried."- CalmAndClear
Monsters Inc Hug GIF Giphy
There is nothing more powerful than the spoken word.
Especially if those spoken words are said to us, when we need to hear them.
@jaketapoer/Bluesky
@BillAckman/Twitter