Words Like Smoke: The Unseen Power Behind What We Say

Imagine lighting a match in a room full of people. You’re not trying to burn the place down—just trying to warm yourself for a second. Maybe you’re hurt, frustrated, or needing to be understood. But that match doesn’t just spark, it releases smoke. And that smoke doesn’t stay in your corner. It drifts. It fills the space. Everyone ends up breathing it in.

This is what happens when we speak ill of others, even casually. Gossip, criticism, resentment—we may think they’re just words. But words carry weight. They carry fire. And when we speak from anger, fear, or pain, we send that fire out into the shared space we all live in.

The solar plexus chakra, our center of will and personal power, is the source of this fire. It governs how we choose, how we act, and how we speak. When that fire is directed by our unprocessed emotions, it tends to scorch. But when we take a moment to pause, when we route that fire through the heart, it becomes something else entirely: a tool for clarity, compassion, and integrity.

Every person is carrying something unseen. Grief they haven’t named. Fears they’ve learned to hide. Patterns they never asked for. What if we remembered that before we spoke?

We don’t have to bypass what we feel. But we do have to choose how we move with it. There’s a difference between processing our pain and projecting it. One clears the air. The other thickens it.

When you feel the urge to speak from hurt or judgment, try this instead:

Light a white candle.

Sit quietly with the flame. Let the thoughts rise. Yes, even the ugly ones. The betrayal, the resentment, the comparison. Bring it all to the flame, and offer it there. Let the fire hold it. Let it transmute your anger, your fear, your ache into something cleaner. Not gone, just changed. Lighter.

Gaze into the candle for a few minutes. Notice your breath. The way the flame flickers but stays rooted at its base. This is the energy of the solar plexus at its best: alive, focused, grounded. You don’t need to say anything aloud. Just breathe. Feel the fire in your belly steady itself. Feel your center clear. And when you speak again, let your words come from that place.

Because whether we realize it or not, we’re always contributing to the atmosphere around us. The question is: Are we clearing the air or filling it with smoke?