Words

In the fall of 1993, I was a young 21-year-old graduate school student.

One night, while a professor, who was my mentor, and I were walking down the stairs of our office building, the electricity went off completely.

We had to feel our way to the bottom of multiple flights of stairs.

That’s not the worst thing that happened.

It turned out my feet were not as good as my hands at feeling the stairs.

My right high heel caught on the stairs and fell off - I didn't fall, the heel did.

It was a 3-inch heel.

Until then, I had never walked in high heels without the heel, and with the other shoe still having the heel.

However, I quickly learned how to leverage my right calf and the tips of my toes to balance. We walked all the way from the campus to my dorm.

While I was making jokes about the situation, my mentor turned his head and said to me, “You will go far in life. I know it because of the way you carried yourself in a stressful situation like this.”

30-plus years later, I still remember that night and the words he said.

The words we say carry light or weight; use them wisely.

The words are the water that flows from our minds and hearts. Fill our hearts with love, beauty, and empathy.

P.S. I rarely wear high heels these days. I gave my feet freedom.