The Power of Words

There was once a boy who was most detested by his mother, as she felt he resembled his father who was in jail. His father had been a drug addict all his life and had brought much shame and misery to the family. Due to the family background, the boy had neither a happy nor a caring family, and of course was rebellious. And as he was rebellious, his mother would of course scold and beat him more. She would often went:"You are a good-for-nothing, you follow your father's footsteps just like a drug addict, you are better off dead." True enough, the boy became a drug addict.

A voluntory pastor at the jail took care of this boy's case. The pastor realised that this boy had been exposed to all the misdeeds of a gangster. Housebreaking, vandalising, pimping, debts collecting, etc. But the boy did neither of those. He only touched drugs.

As young as the age of three, this boy had been exposed to the words 'drug, heroine, marijuana, glue sniffing' by his mother. He grew up with these words in his mind. He was sure familiar with all these words. "Don't you think that when he grew up, he would want to satisfy his curiousity?" To put it boldly, his mother was the one who had exposed him to drugs. His mother was the one who was reponsible for his upbringing and shaped his actions.

When a baby is born, he is as clean and pure as a sheet of white paper. He is innocent. He follows what the adults around him are doing. He learns by observing and looking first. As he grows older, he learns by listening. As he is young, he does not know what is right or wrong. He needs education, teaching, role models and guidance.

I seriously feel that a person is born kind, harmless and innocent. I despise parents who neglect children and then blame them for turning astray. If parents can't take care of children, don't even give birth in the first place. Don't bring harm to the kids.

A lot of professors have stressed that we must ecourage every little bit of a child's simple achievements as they grow up, like their first step, their first letter spoken etc, to boost their confidence, to make them feel loved. They need adults' attention! This is very true. Show your love to them openly by positive words. Encourage them by positive words. Words shape minds, which consequently shape actions. Once they have positive minds, they will have positive actions - the right actions to do the right things!