Words

I know it's not the smartest thing to do, but I sometimes read books on my drive to and from work. It's a very slow process since I can usually only read a paragraph or two at a time while the lights are red....then there are days when I don't get to read at all because every light is green. Am I the only one who hopes for a red light?

I'm currently reading the book Princeps' Fury by Jim Butcher. It's book 5 of 6 in a series, and every book  is very well written. As I sat in my car at a red light this morning, the few paragraphs I read left my heart pounding in my chest and adrenaline coursing through my veins. I was hanging onto every word, not able to read fast enough.....then the light turned green.

The rest of my drive (which was unfortunately red-light free), I pondered what had happened.  How could a few letters strung together make my body react that way? That adrenaline woke me up far faster and more thoroughly than a cup of coffee, and it was generated by a very small portion of text! Words carry with them an incredible power. At their basest form, they convey thoughts and concepts, but they can also paint pictures, convey emotions, and even create entire worlds.

Maybe that's why James made a point of saying, "....be quick to listen and slow to speak...." If we truly considered what we are about to say before we say it, would we still use those same words? I get myself into a lot of trouble at times because I open my mouth and speak before I think. I'm definitely going to make an attempt at fixing that.



And in case you're wondering, here's what I read in those few moments:


".....In order to kill Kalarus Brencis Minoris and survive the exchange herself, Amara would have to open up his throat wide with the stone-bladed dagger she held in her hand. Or else sink it to the hilt in one of his eyes or ears. There was absolutely no room for error.
     Brencis, on the other hand, could snap her neck with a thrust of his arm, burn her to bones with a flick of his fingers, or sweep her head clean of her neck with a single motion of his excellent-quality sword.
It seemed a trifle unfair.
     But then, she’d never really expected a series of equitable situations when she’d joined the Cursors.
     Crows take you, Gaius. Even when I walked away from your service, you managed to draw me back into it.
     Moving silent and unseen had become second nature to her over the past days. She drifted past the guards standing about the courtyard, walking slowly, calmly, and carefully. She paused several times, to let one of the collared Alerans pass nearby, before she continued. Stealth had a great deal more to do with patience and the ability to remain calm when there was very little reason to do so than with any amount of personal agility.
     It took her perhaps ten minutes to move from the shelter of the alley to the side of the platform opposite Brencis’s table. It took another five to slide around the platform and stop beside the stairs leading from the floor of the courtyard up to the auction stage. When Brencis finished eating, he would go back up the stairs to collar the next victim, and Amara would drive her dagger into his brain. He would fall. She would take to the skies immediately, and be gone from the meager light of the furylamps before anyone could react. It couldn’t be simpler.
     In matters such as that, simplicity was a deadly weapon in its own right.
     It took Brencis several more moments to finish dinner, before he pushed his plate away and rose.
Amara settled her grip on the handle of the stone knife and relaxed her muscles, preparing for the single, blindingly swift strike that was her only chance at success."


.....and I have to wait until lunch to find out what happens.