Words Without Meaning

1997. My seatmate showed me a piece of intermediate paper with two-stanza lyrics of a song. Without even having to ask him, he volunteered to sing…

You told me you loved me
You told me you cared
You told me you needed me
But I guess
Those were words without meaning

You said I could trust in you
You said I was fine
You said that you spoke the truth
But I guess
Those were words without meaning

It was 10 years ago and still the sound of his voice seems like echoing in my mind. If I remember it right, he told me he wrote that song, and I didn’t question it anymore. I just kept that piece of paper in my wallet for years. Well, until I lost that wallet in a cab.

It’s funny how easy it is for us to say things. More often than not, we let go of words instantaneously and we end up wishing to have those words back. We only get to realize how awful or hurtful it could have been once we have already let it out.

Why are we fond of saying things we don’t really mean? Why do we let out a fast “yes” we don’t have the slightest intention of meaning? Why do we blurt out promises we don’t have the least intention of keeping?

If you were on the receiving end, isn’t hard to gauge the authenticity of one’s words? We get too blinded with a lot of factors in believing what is said to us- the person who said it, the circumstance we’re in, and our own emotion.

But actually, we get to be affected by somebody’s words or even presence only up to the point that we allow them to. The most sincere truth won’t bother us even a bit if we don’t want to. Just the same, the cruelest lie won’t crush us if we choose not to.

The question is, up to what extent are we going to allow ourselves to ignore a truth, or believe a lie?