Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Many of my blog posts here are inspired by things that happen in my daily life.  For example, yesterday I was reminded, by my 21-month-old granddaughter no less, how actions speak louder than words.

She loves to sit at my desk where I keep track of the paper part of my gardening business.  You know, a computer, files, pens, receipts, articles for new ideas, and elastics, lots of elastics.  You see elastics are perfect for organizing the receipts from the plants I purchased for clients.  These receipts are important for warranty and income tax purposes.

Back to the elastics and how they apply to the actions speak louder than words theory.  You may remember from pictures of my son’s wedding that my daughter-in-law has the most beautiful, long, thick, and wavy hair.  Well, she often wears this glorious hair tied up in a ponytail, bun, or braids.  What she may not realize is that when she does wear it down, she often gathers it up and twists or knots it.  Sometimes she secures the tie-up, sometimes she just lets it fall back down.  She always seems to have an emergency elastic on her wrist for this tie-up purpose.  Well, guess who picked up on that habit?  You got it, my granddaughter, the elastics she found on my desk immediately went around her wrist.  Then she pulled one off her wrist and tried to put it in her hair.  The cutest part was she does not (yet) have the volume of hair her mother does, so the elastic just wouldn’t stay put.  A fact that I just couldn’t explain (to her) with words.

Another, not so cute, example of how actions speak louder than words is the fiasco with Don Cherry and Hockey Night in Canada.  Everyone (well apparently there are a few people that are not aware) knows that Don Cherry’s actions over the years prove that he is a caring, kind, and compassionate man both in and out of hockey arenas.  Yet, a few unscripted words were his downfall last week.  His lifetime of actions should have spoken louder than his ill-fated words.  In no way should he be labeled as a racist.  Maybe an old man, incapable of getting his point across in the (overly) politically correct environment we find ourselves in these days, but not a racist.

Many people, believing Cherry’s comments to be inappropriate and racist, were quick however to defend and forgive our Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for his inappropriate and racist actions over the years.  Why is that?  Because Trudeau has apologized profusely for every and any action he has offended anyone with and then some, just in case he missed anyone.  The problem (in my opinion) is that one can only apologize so many times before the apologies become hollow and insincere.  Words can be cheap, glossed over, and forgotten; actions are much more lasting.

Actions speak louder than words, good and bad!