WORDS THAT MATTER
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DECEMBER 2025 RELEASE | Signed by Author | 260 pages, 5x7" Gift book (Arriving Dec 12 - 15)
One could call this work an antidote to the divisive rhetoric of our time. Terah writes: “My favorite words are the wayshowers. Words that open hearts and minds and connect us in meaningful ways. Words that express appreciation for who we are while inspiring us to become more...words that show us the sameness in our hearts, no matter our differences in ideology or culture...If words truly have the power to ‘bring forth new life,’ then it is the hope of this little book to help with that.”
Describing herself as a writer who writes more about what she needs to learn than what she already knows, Terah has compiled this unique collection of quotes to share the “inner tuitions” that have been her lifelong teachers, as well as remarkable words from a few of the visionaries who have inspired her through the years. See below for excerpts from the book. Contact us at [email protected] or 845-797-0902 to order single quotecards.
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Preface (excerpt) |
Introduction |
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This book sprouted from a wall of quotecards in my shop, Words Matter, in Staunton, VA, at the request of numerous visitors. Time and again, they would stand in front of the display picking out quotes, then come to the desk with 5 or 10 or so and ask, “don’t you have these in a book or something?” After a few months of “no, I’m sorry,” one day I heard myself say, “I’m working on it!” And so here it is, thanks to encouragers and contributors from far and wide.
Like many of us, I am a long-time collector of words that resonate with me. While this work includes quotes from the words and works of others that have inspired or catalyzed me into some new awareness or understanding, the words that have mattered most to me are those I call “inner tuitions.” These are words that have been whispered inwardly when I am walking in nature, driving, showering, dreaming, writing, or “conversating” in order to teach me something. And so, I developed over the years as a writer who not so much writes about what I already know—but what I need to learn. Therefore, since much of the content herein encompasses teachings directed to me, the pronoun “you” is much more prevalent than “we” or “us,” and I feel led to share them with you in that context. I think that how we engage with words—those we say to ourselves and that are said to us, and those we say to and about others—is how we create and color our lives. In my own early life, the words in books showed me worlds that had more possibility than the one in which I was living: words that were more encouraging than those being said to me, and that woke up my curiosity and gave me a love for seeking out the truth of things and people. Words that saved my heart, gave me hope, and instilled wonder about the deeper aspects of life and our diverse humanity. When I began to sort the quotes from my shop wall, I could see that they fell into certain themes, running the gamut from relationship with ourselves and each other and our particular dreams, purposes and life journeys, to our relationship with the world at large. These themes are reflected in the book’s subtitle and chapter titles. One of the hardest things I faced in compiling these quotes, and even in writing some new ones, was deciding what to leave out |
To my heart and mind, the words that matter are wayshowers—words that open our hearts and minds and guide us to the truths of ourselves and connect us with other people, things, ideas and circumstances in caring and meaningful ways. Words that inspire us to evolve—to re-examine our truths, dream new dreams, and to experience ourselves and others in a new light, again and again. Words that help us to appreciate who we each are while inspiring us to become more—for in doing so, who we are together becomes more. I especially love words that can help us see that as different as we may be in our opinions, ideologies and cultures, in our hearts we are much the same.
It might seem that the weaponizing of words, which has become so pervasive in politics and media of all kinds, is everyone’s everyday reality. Somehow the most negative words and events make the most noise and therefore get the most attention in the media and politics. But in my own observations and daily interactions with the public, I don’t see that. Many people are choosing to shut off or turn down that noise with less news and social media engagement. Instead, they are more and more exchanging words—and actions—that are welcoming, kind and encouraging. In our personal and professional relatings, we must cultivate the wisdom to discern words that belong to someone else—to their own perspective or experience of life—but that are not ours. For like the light and shadow sides of all things in physical life, words can be not only wayshowers, but weapons. They can expand or diminish us, set us free or hold us prisoner, shut us down or lift us up. When all is said and done, in so many different dialects of heart, mind and deed, I believe the words that matter most are those that are born in our own heart of hearts and those said to us by people who really see us. Words that recognize and resonate with who we are, encourage our potential and invite us to bloom and shine. Words that matter to me increase the light within and around us and open growing and caring spaces between us where something good, kind and loving can be created and nurtured. Those are the kinds of words I’m passionate about helping to amplify in the world. If, as the wise have said for centuries, words truly have the power to bring forth new life, then I say let’s strive to speak and listen to the words that do that—and use them to live every day individually and together in the grace of ongoing renewal. It is the hope of this book to contribute to that. |
