Careless Talk - The Gift of Words

"Of all the creatures on earth, only we can speak. Our words......can create worlds & destroy them. Our words are more than empty breath...." Naomi Alderman - "Disobedience".

I have never thought about this before I read this book. If I was suddenly cut off from everyone I communicate with, either by talking or writing, I cannot imagine what the impact would be. Whatever my experiences, I do want to share them with someone, somehow. I have always loved literature & writing. I have always enjoyed the cut & thrust of stimulating conversation. (I'm not so good at boring, idle chat though).

Words are the key to the mind and the soul. We express our most intimate feelings & emotions with words. Without words how would we share our lives with someone else? Without words we would not be able to enjoy other peoples worlds & lives. The whole realm of the imagination would be closed to us. The words we use are powerful tools to convey infinite layers of description & meaning. The blind man can see, the deaf can hear through descriptive words.

When I have nothing else to do I can escape into a book or challenge my brain with a crossword. I can continue lifelong learning through reading about anything that sparks my interest. What may once have been a chore, cramming for exams, is now a delight of ever opening doors. How could I be bored?

"Lashon hara" is literally an evil tongue in Jewish. We are all guilty of it to some degree. Words are used negatively & destructively. This can be as simple as low level gossip or as powerful as conditioning & propaganda. I am coming to the conclusion that we should all, individually & collectively, be far more careful about the words we chose to speak or write. We need to take responsibility for the impact our words have on other people, directly or indirectly. Unkind or untrue words are hurtful. Verbal abuse is becoming more & more common & is very frightening. It's a shame human beings don't have a "pause button". We would all be better off if we stopped to think before speaking sometimes.

All too often now I forget words, get them mixed up, struggle to find the right ones in the "black holes" of my brain. There is so much knowledge & experience stored in the memory banks of the elderly. We are literally living history. We need to make the effort to make our voices heard. Not in a pontificating, I'm right you're wrong, sort of way. But in a considered way, an attempt to help avoid the repetition of the mistakes of the past.

It won't happen. The world turns. Each generation learns from it's own mistakes. We all re-invent similar wheels. I wonder why, when we have the unbelievable, undervalued gift of words?