IN THE BEGINNING.....THE WORD
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From: Bruce S.
Date: Sunday, September 23, 2007, 6:29 PM
Subject: In the Beginning.....the Word
Reply to: 261098
ID: 258570

great phrase...

"give words a chance"

yes.

this thing -- about communicating...

it can be tough, when there are pressures and tensions in the air....

people are different. people see the word in different ways. they "parse" the world differently -- they "chop it up into words" in different ways...

and then -- my meaning of the word is maybe not your meaning of the word -- so we glare at each other across a divide...

try debating the nature of "God" if you want to see all of this in fluent motion....

on that subject -- I decided years ago that all debates and discussions about the nature of God -- are essentially about creating definitions of what the word means....

to Mr. X, the word means This, to Ms. Y, the word means That...

sooo

the thing to do is

give words a chance

like john lennon suggested....

:)

and when we do that

when we start out -- with a resonant trust -- and we listen -- and we transform our private dictionaries -- "what the word means to me" -- in a process of co-creative learning, as we listen and learn and grow -- the resonant field gets stronger....

and the shared understanding -- gets stronger...

so, this resonant symphony of the word

it's there

but -- it must be "breathed into...."

listen with a harsh or critical ear, and the magic may vanish...

where DO those rainbows come from....?

"meaning is an enchantment", i used to say, way back then...

a magic spell -- a complex woven thing, a filigree fabric -- alive, as the moment is alive...

something shared, something connecting two or more minds into a common field of understanding...

give understanding a chance....

there will be a meaning -- let it be....