Words
Mon, September 9, 2019 What sets the human species apart from all other creatures? I believe it is not that we have a superior brain or opposing thumbs, it is language, our ability to communicate with words.
I recently learned that a crow, a bird with a high level of intelligence, makes a different sound if a human is approaching, or if a cat is in the vicinity. It appears that crows have a simple language, but nothing close to the sophistication of human words that can not only be spoken but written too.
I prefer the written word. It can be edited, whereas often the spoken word comes out and cannot be taken back. The old saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” is seldom true.
Physical pain we tend to forget, but when someone says something nasty those words are locked away in our memory bank to be brought back along with the hurt, repeatedly.
It takes a strong person to recognize that these were only words and it is our choice to relive them. It is not easy, if I say, “Don’t think of elephants," the first thing that will come to your mind is an elephant.
Fond memories can be re-told to others and relived in our own mind. Bad memories often get re-told and are exaggerated, made worse than they originally were. The cleaver lines and comebacks we recite in re-telling the story, are not the words we actually said, but rather what we wish we had said.
Told over and over the stories eventually become our reality. Others will steal our stories, make them their own and retell them until they become their reality. This is how urban myths are born.
“Talk is cheap,” is another common expression. Some can talk for hours and say nothing, certain politicians have honed this to an art form. Words may be cheap but say the wrong thing and it can cost a politician or other public figure dearly.
People who talk incessantly miss out on a lot. For one thing by talking continuously they are not letting others express their views. Then when the other person speaks, they are not listening because they are thinking of what they will say next.
It is only by listening to others that communication pays off. A thought from outside our own mind can spark an entirely new line of thinking.
Words can be powerful sometimes, but other times are inadequate. When someone dies, even with writing skills, words will fail me. Had I been there I would not need words, just to listen, hold a hand or give a hug would have been enough.
Words are not always necessary, and though cheap should not be wasted. Words can build us up or knock us down. They can be both our blessing and our curse.
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Reader Comments (3)
You don't say!!!!
Good piece Dave.
Interesting take. You know, the ancient greeks were very suspicious of the written word, they considered it static and robbed of a lot of its linguistic power. You can't interrogate a book, ask it questions to figure out more precisely what it means.