The Real Power Of “I Am Sorry” Phrase
S-O-R-R-Y: One of the most overused yet the most powerful word in the English Dictionary. Five letters, one word and numerous potential uses. But do we really know its meaning or is it more like a cliché?
I remember back in 8th or 9th grade when our English Teacher would tell us that if we start apologizing every time we mess up, the word would eventually lose its meaning. Back then, every one of us would let out a sigh at that and probably not think much about it but now when we use it almost every day, it must urge us to think about what meaning does this word hold.
One of the major problems in our society is that apologizing is mostly seen as a sign of weakness. Apology symbolizes loss. When a particular person makes up his mind to say sorry to someone he wronged, the only thing that stops him is his ego because he would be seen as the weak guy. People perceive it as if the other person says sorry they somehow have authority over him. But in truth, A sorry is so much more powerful than that. It has the power to break a heart or restore one previously broken. A rejection for a lovebird from his loved one leaves him devastated, with a broken heart and teary eyes. Similar is the case when a doctor delivers the news of someone’s passing to his respective family. Although it cannot undo what has been done, but it helps ease the pain. But this same word can make someone's day a hundred times better. We never know what the other person is going through and sometimes by just apologizing on a simple mistake of yours can make his day. It also may help people to get out of sketchy situations like if your boss is angry at you for being late it may help in cooling his temper. Similarly, owning up to the bad ways you treated someone or when a person who is dear to you wrongs you but you still want to be friends with them and give them a chance suddenly own up to what they did, makes you feel a lot better, trust me.
Back in 10th grade, I'd like to think I had two best friends. I considered both of them as my family and the three of us were basically inseparable. But eventually my friendship with one of them started deteriorating and we slowly drifted apart. He was still very dear to me but I found out that he had started backbiting about me to others. This really hit me as a shock and to imagine someone who I considered family say such stuff about myself, broke me. I found it hard to trust people from then onwards and barely let anyone in my life. But one day, he came up to me and repented. The joy and satisfaction I got that day is immeasurable and it restored my faith that there is still good left in us humans.
Even though we are not friends anymore, his apology is one of the most important realizations in my life. Before it, I just thought of sorry as just another phrase but that day I realized its true power. Honestly for me the word sorry cannot be defined. It is beyond the comprehension of words. Our society should change our standards of precieving sorry as a weakness and start glorifying it. Theres a saying that goes “Never ruin an apology with an excuse.” and i think that pretty much sums it up.
