Dexter Iowa Community Site

Consider this quote from Abe Lincoln

"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."

     One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish…Words. I’ve spent a lifetime with words. From the help of Dr. Seuss learning how to speak them to making a living with them, words have become an important and often times sticky friend over the years.

     When I first sat down to start writing columns some eight years ago, I never imagined what I would fall into along the way. I’ve always been a writer, getting my inspiration from being forced to watch The Walton’s by my dear mother. I was one of the few people in high school who didn’t groan in pain when our English teacher explained that we would have to write in a journal every week and turn it in.

     Writing has been my form of expression over the years. I found as an awkward husky boy that I could pour out my feelings on paper and didn’t have to be subjected to the scorn and ridicule of anyone else. That early form of therapy started me on a semi secret life long keeping of a diary. It is fun to pick back through the pages from time to time and take a look at where I thought I was in life at a certain time. From those pages I also gather ideas for columns and stories.

     When I needed some place to throw my energy during those cold lonely unemployed months, I started writing a book and as the words came together to form sentences and then paragraphs I poured my heart into the words on the page. The book, in its finished form is an amazing testament to late nights, with little sleep, sitting in front of the dull shine of the computer monitor as I poured the words on paper. As of today I’m proud to say that I’ve amassed a number of very nice rejection letters for my effort, which is almost as much fun to receive, as it was to write the book.

     As a writer I found it also easy to use words to speak to others. Although I’m a top-notch public speaker, I find that I am most comfortable in an intimate setting listening more than talking these days. I like to hear the words people use to describe their lives and tell their stories.

     I am fortunate to have the Weesner charm when it comes to meeting people so I’m not afraid of that at all. Part of the ease I find in meeting new people is wanting to hear them tell the stories of their lives. I’ve been kicking around a different career path for a while now, although I dearly like driving the train at the elevator. Part of that job will be speaking in front of other people. But much of that job really will be to listen to the words that other people use.

     Our lives are filled with words that float along in the air above our heads. They clutter the landscape of our lives and bring us joy, and laughter and sometime heartache and sadness. I feel that at times that is what people really want the most. Someone to listen to them tell their story. It is why I write this column every week and enjoy the emails and comments that I get.

     We must be careful with our words as well. I feel that our words should be uplifting and comforting, yet there are many times when the words we hear are ones that hurt us. It may not be intentional, but perhaps each of us needs to take a little more time to listen to the things we say, and more importantly the things we don’t say.

     Have you ever wanted to hear someone say to you, “I care. Things will be alright.”, or even just “Hello”? Maybe there is someone in your life who is waiting patiently for you to say something to him or her, to bring him or her comfort, to give them a piece of yourself. Are you the kind of person who takes the opportunity to say them, or do you find yourself wishing that there were fewer things left unsaid?

     My challenge for each of you this week, is to say the things that need to be said. Take the opportunity to let someone important to you know just how much he or she mean to you. Use the words in your heart to lift up a life in need, to bring peace to a troubled mind, or to help heal a broken heart. It isn’t hard, and doesn’t take long, and in the end you just might find yourself sitting over a cup of coffee sharing words you’ve always wanted to hear.

See you next week…Remember, we’re all in this together.