12 Words

Someone called them the twelve most powerful words in the English language. Unquestionably they are words everyone wants to hear. But they are hard words to say because they are dangerous to a person’s own misplaced conviction of their own infallibility. They are words that make possible uniting the divided and healing the hurting. They are powerful words, and they are rare.

I was wrong. I am sorry. Please forgive me. I love you. People have a hard time hearing the end if they haven’t heard the beginning. It strikes me today as I listen to the president’s response to yesterday’s election that what is so clearly true in human relationships is also true in the political realm. And I wonder about the power that might have been released if those twelve words had been included in today’s press conference.

Some of you read the title of this blog entry and hoped that I had finally learned to tweet, limiting myself to just a dozen words. I guess I misled you. I was wrong. I am sorry. Please forgive me. I love you.
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