As we elbowed through the crowd to get into a taxi at Nyabugogo early this morning, a young lady accidentally stepped on an old man. She did not say sorry despite the fact that her action was not intentional. Along the way, this old man kept talking about the girl and this drew the attention of other passengers. It became a debate in the taxi.I too begun to wonder what kind of girl this was, apologising would definitely not have cost her a thing. This four digit word ‘sorry’ is a short but carries the power to heal the deepest of wounds. Sorry heals the broken hearted, when you acknowledge you are in the wrong and have the courtesy to move a step further to say it, then you are setting yourself free from guilt. There are people who do not have this valuable and precious word in their vocabulary, while they learned to speak at an early age, the word sorry was not part of their vocabulary—they were not willing to discover its value. At the end of the day, they become proud and find it humiliating to bend low and use this word. As a child we always said, “Sorry comes after danger,” as we rebuked those who attached no meaning to the word especially after hurting us. Indeed it does, when you have done wrong you definitely have to be sorry for whatever you have done. It relieves you from the stress of being guilty. This does not mean that one should always do wrong knowing there is a sorry to say after the danger has been intentionally committed. The meaning of this short yet long word would have been buried. Saying sorry is supposed be genuine and should come from someone who is in the wrong. It should be a conviction straight from the heart. This word results into reconciliation; it heals the broken hearted, brings souls together and binds relationships such as marriages or friendships—sorry cools off a looming conflict. Therefore, people should take it upon themselves to add or keep this word in their vocabulary, it is such a short word that you cannot afford to ignore or forget it. Its effect lasts and can be forever felt, and there is nothing to lose when you say sorry; so why not give it a try if you do not mind and check the results. jacqueuwera@yahoo.com
