What a difference a word makes!
What we say has power to affect others and our experiences with them. And the words we choose to describe ourselves and our situations determines much of our experience!
Are we…
- rich or temporarily blessed,
- lonely or enjoying solitude, or
- struggling or growing through resistance?
We know that… well-educated isn’t the same as smart, talents are different than skills, and learning is not the same as education.
Words may seem similar but be noticeably different in what they mean (and how they are perceived!)
In his Meditations, the Stoic philosopher and Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius repeatedly played with language and logic this way. Multiple times he tackled the concept of change (something that scares most of us) by rephrasing it as…
- a new beginning,
- a form of growth, or
- the natural transition from the old to the new.
Words are like maps in that maps are representations which by their very nature have to generalize, distort, or delete information. (think ‘chair’ or ‘good’) Simply put, words are not the objects that they describe. Language is a miracle of abstraction that tends to get mistaken for reality itself.
I’ve written before that the map is not the territory! And that the power of our perspective is critical.
Change…alter…transform. The meaning of our experience depends on us and how we decide to label it. And those labels are completely subjective.
We can choose to transform any negative energy into an aura of “possibility.” It is our perception that will make the difference in the way we feel.
I’m for transformation! Choose some four letter words you prefer to use and experience I choose words like calm, love, care, help, save, give, life…
What would some of YOURS be?
1 Comment
Excellent post Pat! Perspective and how we choose to view our circumstance can be a very powerful thing! Abraham Lincoln said we are usually about as happy as we choose to be. I personally find that to be very true.