Archives for August 2021

I had a male friend who grew up on the south side of Boston once tell me that “My word is like my balls. I don’t break neither for nobody. Ever”. Crude, but effective. He said what he meant and meant what he said.

For almost 18 years, we have heard vows recited in all manner of pomp and circumstance, in versions both short and long, with both trembling awe and with soaring joy, Merriam Webster defines a vow as a ‘solemn promise’.

“To promise is to ‘tell someone that you will definitely do something or that something will definitely happen’ and to do so solemnly, is to do so in a ‘very serious or formal manner, behavior, or expression’. To make that profound a vow in front of witnesses, of family and of God, takes that promise to a height of ultimate conviction, dignity and respect. These are not mere words. They are the expression of your being and they convey honor and truth. They should not be taken lightly nor tossed around like chaff in the wind. Words without belief are hollow sounds, unworthy of utterance.

We can profess a love for beer with the same word we use to love a child. It is the purpose and action behind the declaration that separates a goal from a realization.

May your spoken words to others be few but significant, may your unspoken words be heard by way of the heart. May you be still enough to hear them both and keep them sacred like promises.

Elaine