Powerful Words

I was taking notes very sincerely (occasional hobby he he)...every 20 or 30 seconds looking up to get what he was telling. The lecture was on how to speak well in group discussions during campus interviews. Some guys at the last were giggling at every word he spoke...it made me to smile ofcourse....classroom fun is too good...He completed what he was saying and then clapped his hands twice to the get attention of the class.

The giggling stopped...everyone looked up. He said, "Put the pens down. I'm going to tell you something important". That said, even the last benchers looked up. The sound of all the books closing filled the room for sometime and then there was pin-drop silence. He cleared his throat....

"Do you know???" he began, "Do you know, im HIV positive"....What??? What the hell?? I was shell shocked. My eyes popped out. He continued, "im having leukemia too". What the hell of a class was this...I was bombed. This was worse than the nuclear bomb on Hiroshima. A HIV+ guy doing a class for us?? Not even in the wildest dreams i was imagining so...almost paralysed with that information. sniff...sniff...some girls on the far right had started weeping and they began to wipe their noses...the news too big for them to bear.

Seeing them, he began to laugh. I couldn't just understand what he was doing. He tells he is HIV+ and starts laughing. Congrats!! for his positive approach but it was still beyond comprehension. He started again, "Didn't I get you all by surprise?". "Yes" was the unanymous reply. He said, "Words whether they are empty or full, they leave a huge impact. I know you wont forget this in your lifetime. So choose your words carefully in your Group Disscussion. If you dont then your job is out of your hands".

How true that is with our life also. With hasty decisions and words thrown out carelessly, we not only create a crack between our friendship, we also leave a scar in our friend's heart. So, let us choose words carefully before we speak. This brings back to my mind the famous Thirukkural "Theeyinal sutta pun ullaarum aaraathe naavinaal sutta vadu". It means, "Even the deepest burns caused by fire will heal one day, but the burns caused by words wont heal".

Brr...I'm shivering now!! The exam fever caught up sometime back...Its showing the symptoms of leaving now because of the rains...and the exams got postponed again.

--