“Word.”
\nWhen spoken colloquially, it means, “That\u2019s right.” Or, “That word is true.” This compact expression validates another speaker\u2019s words as holding great meaning, great power.<\/p>\n
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The Beatles knew all about the power of words. “Say the word and you\u2019ll be free!” they sang, harmonizing the crucial message that the schoolyard chant of, “Words can never hurt me!” was (and is) a dangerous myth.
\nWords matter. They change lives, for good or for evil. They make agreements, create slogans, break hearts, uplift the fallen, dash hopes, end wars, begin conflicts, promise devotion, christen new beginnings, pronounce epitaphs, inspire souls, and give names to discoveries, ideas, children. Words have weight.<\/p>\n
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Recently, I was asked to chair a small Beatles symposium, and in doing so, I gained undying respect for the Lapidos family, who so adeptly manage our very, very large Fest for Beatles Fans. Twice each year, Mark, Carol, Michelle, and Jessica deal expertly with \u201cthe words\u201d of hundreds of authors, artists, musicians, entertainers, speakers, craftsmen, hotel representatives, food service professionals, volunteers, and fans of all ages. They do this with great finesse, while I found chairing my small symposium…well, an eye-opening adventure.<\/p>\n
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You see, in my limited experience that weekend, I discovered the real power of words. I found out that for some people, words are bonds. These faithful, honorable souls “give their word,” and they keep it.<\/p>\n
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But, for others, \u201cthe word\u201d is empty, vacuous. And their ineffectual, broken words make them untrustworthy \u2013 impossible to respect. I learned that, \u201cActions [really do] speak louder than words.\u201d In fact, actions are the visible proof that an individual\u2019s words have substance and merit.<\/p>\n
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At this moment, you and I in the midst of another huge “festival” of sorts: we\u2019re participants in a political fest in which words are being handily juggled all about us: bright promises, catchy phrases, glistening pledges, and “oh-so-sincere guarantees.” Here, there, and everywhere, political candidates are performing\u2026dancing about and basing their success on the impact of words. They\u2019re traveling the country speaking, charming \u2013 trying to insinuate words into our brains. More than any other tool in their arsenal, these public figures employ words.<\/p>\n
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“Give [my words] a chance to say that [my words] are just the way!” they seem to sing. They beguile us with clever syllables.<\/p>\n
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But, we are wary \u2013 you and I \u2013 because we\u2019ve heard it all before. We\u2019ve heard, in the past, from political pundits who\u2019ve promised to “do this and do that” and then have failed to deliver. We\u2019ve learned the hard way that words of promise offered without the integrity of deeds can lead to failure, guiding us toward the very “eve of destruction.”<\/p>\n
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So, how can we be certain that someone is sincere, that “the word is good?”<\/p>\n
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Well, The Beatles suggested this formula:<\/p>\n
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“Give the Word a chance to say<\/strong> <\/p>\n It\u2019s just that simple. Look for Love. No one speaking in Love can mislead, wound, threaten, lie, assault, cheat, defeat, defame, blame. Those speaking in Love can only offer healing, support, truth, strength, courage, and hope. <\/p>\n And then, while we\u2019re at it\u2026let\u2019s speak in Love. When our words leave our bodies and brains, they travel forth as our ambassadors, representing us. Some people may not ever meet us in person, but our words (via FACEbook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, Snapchat, blogs, email, and various other forms of social media) create a vivid image of what we really believe and who were really are. Is my image one of Love? Is yours?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n “Give the word a chance to say<\/strong> <\/p>\n Word.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jude Southerland Kessler is the author of the John Lennon Series:\u00a0www.johnlennonseries.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Jude is represented by 910 Public Relations —\u00a0@910PubRel<\/a>\u00a0on Twitter and\u00a0910 Public Relations<\/a>\u00a0on Facebook.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" “Word.” When spoken colloquially, it means, “That\u2019s right.” Or, “That word is true.” This compact expression validates another speaker\u2019s words as holding great meaning, great power. The Beatles knew all about the power of words. “Say the word and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":5901,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[98,117,30],"class_list":["post-5900","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-baby-boomer-beatles-blog","tag-jude-southerland-kessler","tag-the-beatles","tag-the-fest-for-beatles-fans"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thefest.com\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5900","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thefest.com\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thefest.com\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thefest.com\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thefest.com\/?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5900"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thefest.com\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5900\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5902,"href":"https:\/\/www.thefest.com\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5900\/revisions\/5902"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thefest.com\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thefest.com\/?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thefest.com\/?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thefest.com\/?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n That the Word is just the way!<\/strong>
\n It\u2019s the Word I\u2019m thinkin\u2019 of\u2026<\/strong>
\n Have you heard? The word is Love!”<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n“Though I speak with the tongues of men and angels, but have not Love,” the Bible tells us, “I am nothing.”
\nLook for the Love. Evaluate the words of others in Love\u2019s bright, unblinking light.<\/p>\n
\n That the word is just the way!<\/strong>
\n It’s the word I’m thinking of,<\/strong>
\n And the ONLY word is love!<\/strong>
\n It\u2019s so fine, it\u2019s sunshine\u2026love.”<\/strong><\/p>\n