Words Tell Our Emotional State

Recently, I watched an elderly man, Joe, make a courageous decision to have open-heart surgery to "buy" five more years of life. He flew through the surgery with no complications and sped through recovery better than most men 20 years younger the doctor said. Now it was time for the long rehabilitation, including core body exercises. At the beginning, Joe said the physical therapists were "abusive and agressive." Months later he called them his "angels." How often our words will communicate our emotional well-being and adjustment. Do you work hard at checking your words in your mind before you write or speak them? Do you read and listen behind the words for the emotional context and content? We would all become better communicators if we would test the emotional filters of the words of the moment.