NOTHING MORE HELPFUL THAN WORDS

 

Other than a soothing bath or a massage or a close embrace, what is more helpful than words?  We live by them.  The Bible says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." John 1:1  We read books and write them,  we listen to preachers and orators,  until we talk to eachother nothing is clear.  "We have to talk," begins many a crisis (or its resolution).  We define ourselves with words:  I am an optimist, I am gender non-conforming, I am a cancer survivor, I am the person who will love you for life, I am a child of God . . . . 

When meaningless words fill up our TV screens we call it "talking heads."  We have phrases for those we think talk too much:  he won't let me "get a word in edgewise" or,  she "runs at the mouth."  We look for sound advice, we tell eachother stories, we make ourselves heard, we listen carefully.  We recite mantras and  seek out inspirational quotes.  We cross-stitch them, paint them, needle-point them, collage them . . . .  

Words have super powers.  Think of when you've been hurt, crushed even.  Words did it.  Or been restored,  again by words.  "It's not your fault."   "I love you."  "I didn't mean it."  "It won't happen again."  "Forgive me."  "I forgive you."  

Maybe because I am an English major, I am always finding words to help me live my life.

• It's normal to feel validated when someone shows us respect or wants our opinion.  But it's also easy to be manipulated, to go astray because the validation produces a glow.  Recognize the need for admiration, for relevance.  We can make wrong decisions under their spell.  I have seen that.  
• Emotions can be triggered.  Behind every emotion lies a thought.  A profoundly disturbing response is tethered to a profoundly disturbing event.   This is OK.  Our minds protect us.  They remind us to take care of ourselves.  They remind us that the event is over.  They remind us that we have already survived it.  We need to recognize the difference between incomprehension and sadness and actual suffering.  They are not the same.  
• "You alone are enough.  You have nothing to prove to anyone."  Maya Angelou
• Influencers are narcissistic.   It involves excessive arrogance and the need for admiration.  Self-promotion.  Couching it as religious makes no difference, absolutely none.   
  
• Respect how you spend your day.  Given all you've been through, you can choose to take it easy on yourself. 
  
• Fill-in-what-you-want-here.  What I write are nothing more than examples.  Be yourself, trust yourself.  

                                                                  Nina Naomi

 

 

THE FEARSOME POWER OF WORDS

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  John 1:1 

It's possible that nothing is more important that words. For good or for ill.  Words can affirm, encourage, heal and restore.  Or they can break, destroy, humiliate and hurt.  Feelings change and pass; thoughts meander and disappear.  Anyone who's tried meditation knows this; try to focus on the breath and thoughts wander in and out.  Let them go; come back to the breath.


But words stick.  They remain. They're not ephemeral.  They don't dissipate like clouds.  Once said is always said.  Many of our traumas are based upon words.  "I remember when you said . . . ."  Out of a thousand kind words we will remember the ones that wound.  They are so powerful that one sentence can awaken our deepest insecurities, insecurities we didn't even know we had. 

"Kind words are like honey, sweet to the soul and healthy to the body"  Proverbs 16:24  What would love be without words?  Whispered words that stroke like hands, words that we need and seek from the moment of our birth until our death. A soft voice, a touch, tender words.  That's why one of the tragedies of this virus is that those who succumb have to die alone, without words of love or blessing. Years ago my husband's father died alone working in his allotment, shovel in hand.  How much better for my husband and his mother when they could pray together before she died.
   

The power of words is so strong that we don't have to use many to cause deep happiness or profound sadness.  Words can reveal a misplacing of love, a promise broken or a duty ignored.  They don't even have to be spoken to you.  You can overhear them, read them, find them. . . .  Some words, found or spoken, can root you to the spot:  "How will I live now?"  "The earth is opening and I'm falling in."


We say that actions speak louder than words but I don't think so.  I think they go hand-in-hand.  After all, speaking is an action.  Remaining silent when words are needed is an action too. First the words, then the deeds that support them. Apologize with words that admit having done wrong.  Show remorse by doing whatever is possible to heal the hurt caused by the wrong.  And when the hurt is slow to fade, continue to find words and deeds to assuage it.  

Why think of this today?  Well, for one thing, today there is more time to think. This post has been waiting half-formed for weeks.  For another, we are all isolated with someone.  Isolation fatigue has set in; self-discipline is not a virtue that comes easily.  Unkind words may be hovering, or have been said.  

So let us find the right words.  Strangers on the phone have said to me, "I hope you're OK."  I've said the same.  We're not just saying, "Have a good one,"  the phrase that's come to mean, "Keep the line moving."  I think we actually mean it.  

 





 

TURN ON YOUR CREATIVE BRAIN

Lately I've been loving making word collages.  Bloggers love words, that's fair to say isn't it?  So do readers.  We love to read and to write.  Somewhere I read that crafting used to be considered trivial.  Not sure who felt that way, but those kinds of judgments are long past.  Now we know how healthy hobbies are and if you can make a living with your hobby, so much the better.   

This word collage is in a 10"x12" old frame that I painted.  I collaged over a quote by Maya Angelou:  "You can't use up creativity.  The more you use, the more you have."  I like seeing her words left exposed, you & creativity, and knowing what the rest of the phrase is.  The words I chose were: 

sunset, dance, darling, the meaning of life, 

lies you've told, Outside hours, hate small talk.

"An ordinary life can be extraordinary and that magic can be found in the everyday."  

speak emotion, life goes by too quickly, warm tea,

Quiet, like people with depth.    

We--all of us--think in words, in our native languages.  Even our word-less emotions we try to give names to.  "I'm sad," no, "I'm downright miserable."  "I feel empty." No, "bereft." Words give us distance from the bad times. Or "I feel loved."  Saying those words slows our breath, releases any tightness. See the phrase "speak emotion?"  Those two words are fraught with memories for me, a kind of therapy almost.  Being loved creates a physical feeling of calmness.  Being absorbed in creating a word collage can do the same, like the other things we do just because we want to. 

This word collage is in a 3"x4" frame:  

Write more, Living, flow, ONE DAY AT A TIME,
Today, all these years later, Don't be afraid,  
Tiny Pleasures Sticky Notes, a blessing, to enjoy each day.  

The pleasure is not only in choosing the words and phrases for what they bring to you, but also deciding on a background, choosing the fonts, and arranging the sentiments.  I have old frames of faded snaps just waiting for reuse, but our consignment shops are also filled with them.  

This one is in an antique brass oval frame, also 3"x4".  It covers a picture of a person in our family no longer known to anyone living.  I enjoyed picking the leafy green background and the words and phrases in alternating white-on-black, white-on-taupe, and black-on-white: 

because, Focus your attention, What makes you think, 
Close some doors today, what counts most, you, 
 discovering your options,  Make a plan,  lead,  
 what can you do to change, simply

My husband asked why I would choose "Close some doors today."  "Because some doors lead to nowhere," I said.  He said the word he liked best was "simply."  Maybe I do too. Making a word collage is definitely a simple pleasure.  One more:  

This is in a 5'x7' frame.  My granddaughter likes to illustrate and drew the background wallpaper. These words just collected themselves, different fonts, sizes, colors all amassed and waiting for the right matting which also appeared.  I hope you like it as much as I do.  The words? 

 Insight, FLOW, KIND, beautifully, POETRY, 

TAKING PHOTOS, THERE'S ALWAYS SOMETHING ABOUT LOVE,

BODY BEAUTIFUL,  TAKING TIME AND LOOKING CLOSELY

Why do we like this sort of thing?  Because focus is calming, isn't it.  So many people make creating something, even the smallest thing, part of their recipe for wholeness.  Maybe doing nothing for a bit is even healthier, but I'm not there yet, maybe never will be.  In the meantime, let's turn on our creative brains and make something.  I'm committed to enjoying every single thing I make!