#BreakTheSpell: Nice

Excerpt from The Little Dictionary of Distorted Words, Volume One: RECLAIMED

Sharing this little snippet from my upcoming book, because this one's personal.

It’s a word I’ve reclaimed myself, because peace is ultimately what I dream of, and I allowed that to suppress my truth. For years, I confused peacekeepingwith peace, and let being nice become the muzzle that softened my voice. If I could just stay agreeable, I’d stay safe. But instead it taught me to smile when I was tired, to nod when I disagreed, to soften my tone until my truth disappeared entirely.

Nice was never neutral.

Roots & Ruins:

From Latin nescius, meaning ignorant, unaware, or unknowing, nice began its life as an insult. By the 13th century, it meant foolish or silly. By the 14th, wanton. By the 16th, weak, even cowardly. And after centuries of condescension and quiet ridicule, it was rebranded in the 1800s as something altogether more socially acceptable: pleasant, agreeable, proper.

But here’s the twist in the tale.
That polished exterior, so well-mannered, so inoffensive, was always a spell. Beneath it lives the ghost of its origin: describing someone easily led, and disconnected from their own knowing. A word that told you to stay small and sweet and unaware of your own goddamn power.

Nice was never a compliment. It was a velvet-gloved command. And the cruellest part? We've been spellcasting it unconsciously onto ourselves and those we love ever since.

Reclaimed Truth:
Kindness is holy. Truth is sacred. But nice is performative compliance wrapped in a ribbon of politeness. We don’t reclaim this one to keep it. We reclaim it so we can spit it the hell out.

Because when you stop trying to be nice, you make space for what’s real. For kindness that doesn’t cost your integrity. For presence that doesn’t apologise for taking up space. And for peace that doesn’t require your silence.

I refuse to stay silent a moment longer. This is what I’m here for:
To decode it. Break it. Rewrite it.
And most importantly—live it.

From the The Little Dictionary of Distorted Words, Volume One: RECLAIMED.
#BreakTheSpell #RewriteYourWorld #AbracadabraBitch

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