Teaching troubled children through your presence that there is such a thing as reliable love . . .
But where is it written that we must act as if we do not care, as if we are not moved? Well, I am moved. I want a kinder, gentler nation . . .
Our nation . . . A brilliant diversity spread like stars . . . Like a thousand points of light in a broad and peaceful sky . . .
(All quoted from George H.W. Bush’s bid for presidency, 1988)
Regardless of your political persuasions, do you not find these thoughts poignant and moving, especially in the context of our current political climate? Words matter. They are a potent force for good or evil. They literally shape our material world.
The words we speak not only reflect, but shape our thoughts, and our thoughts can change the actual physical structure of our brain. Recent research in neuroplascity (Sharon Begley) suggests that the way we think cannot only change the structure of our brain, but can lead to the regrowth of new brain cells, once thought to be impossible.
Through words we are able to implant our thoughts into someone else’s mind. (And vice versa, making for a good conspiracy theory!) Words matter. They literally can shape the way we think, the physical structure of our brain, (imagine that!) and thereby the world in which we are living.
We are inundated with words; it is estimated (NPR) that the average person hears 100,000 words a day. This doesn’t mean that we take them all in (!), but it sure oughta make us think twice about the words to which we want to listen, and the words we want to speak.
Words matter. Maybe through careful attention to the words to which we attend, and those words we choose to speak, we really could build that “kinder, gentler world.”
