“Some people have a way with words, and some people…oh, uh, not have way.”

~Steve Martin

Have you ever said something that was so far from what you meant to say, that it took you to a place of meaning from which you could not escape?

Have you ever felt yourself falling deeper and deeper into a hole dug by your own good intentions? Buried by the words that betrayed them?

There within that deep, dark, mysterious hole, have you ever found yourself wondering: “How am I ever going to get out of this?”

In short, have you ever tasted the dismal treat of talking nonsense? I’m not talking about the fun kind. I’m talking about the dismal kind. The kind that makes you want to say: “Off with my tongue!”

I think we all have, at some point or another.

Like Alice, we’ve bitten into a topic we shouldn’t have–our heads and our hearts simply weren’t up to it. We swallow one word, then another, then another. With each one, we find ourselves shrinking. Down. Down. Down. Deeper. Deeper. Deeper. Tears don’t help us escape. They only make it worse.

Down in that hole, you feel small. The key to your escape is beyond your reach.

You are mis-under-stood.

The problem with being misunderstood?

You are missing.

You have lost yourself in the fantasy that is taking place in your head. The fantasy that is telling you what that person–those people–must think of you.

That’s the real challenge. Escaping words might not be that tough, but escaping your thoughts? Well, that’s a different matter.

But it does matter.

You matter.

And if the person who misunderstood you understands that much?

Then your mistake won’t.

You take a bite out of that thought and you begin to grow. Slowly, but surely, inch by inch, you ascend. You decide you might have been a bit hasty in your judgment of yourself. Finally, you are tall enough to reach the key–the key that will get you out of the hole.

What is the key?

Forgiveness.

It’s a nonsensical word to some people. There is often no reason to forgive, no logic to it. Try as we might, we can’t always understand it. It’s a doorway to wonderful adventures. New friendships. New misunderstandings. New apologies. New encounters with grace that knock our heads for a loop.

Next time you find yourself talking nonsense? Try talking forgiveness.

It sure tastes sweet. Especially when you give it to yourself.