Put People Up

I've noticed in my family that we sometimes fall into the societal trap of joking with our friends by putting each other down. In a trick of words I said to one of my teens a few days ago, "Don't put people down, put people up." When I said it I thought how true it is. By our words we have the power to put people up, to elevate them.

Not long ago our high school had a school assembly called "Rachel's Challenge." Rachel was the first victim at the Columbine school shooting. Before she died Rachel wrote about wanting to create a chain reaction of kindness. Now her family is taking that dream as a challenge to youth throughout the nation and beyond. The day Rachel's Challenge came to our area was beautiful. Teens all through town were going up to people and telling them they loved them. They don't realize the impact it's had on the adults. Their words elevated me.

I've talked about the power of words to tear down, now I want to see the power of words to build up. So that's my new mantra. PUT PEOPLE UP.