Words

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Confuddled ^pro

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« Emotional Responsibility

Spiritual, not religious »

Words

by Confuddled @ 2007-12-15 - 23:28:25

Just been reading a book and was quite taken (in that it has made me think) by what the author wrote about words. He wrote that we have come to think of words as a means of communication but what we actually do with words is anything but communicate. Reminded me of a quote I saw recently from Nathaniel Hawthorne, an American novelist - "Words - so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them."

Think about it...
Words are so easily misinterpreted. They are used to control and manipulate; to get what we want; to blame; to surpress; to obscure the truth; to divert attention. We hide behind them. And I wont even mention Spin. We also use them to express what we think and feel - but how often is it the truth? Words can move us to tears. Words have a sense of power yet all they are, are a combination of letters.

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kevinwilson ^pro
2007-12-16 @ 00:03

good post...on a very interesting subject.
the truth is that, when you are face to face with someone, it doesn't matter what words they say - you know the truth by observing the face and eyes.

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Confuddled ^pro
2007-12-16 @ 12:20

Thank you.
It's also the way in which the words are said that counts.

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nearlyeddie [Visitor]

2007-12-16 @ 00:47

I think that is why i find the internet so challenging - words mean nothing and the intention behind them is so easiy manipulated.

All most people want is to communicate and in our society today connection is so difficult. I wonder if others feel as alone as i do? Yet the very medium which we rely on to communicate is one which we cannot put our trust in. Surely connection was not meant to be so difficult?

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Confuddled ^pro
2007-12-16 @ 12:38

I don't think it ought to be. I think there are those, and I do believe they are still in the minority, who manipulate words and/or whose intentions aren't honest. The trick is to remember that.

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blacksheep63 ^pro
2007-12-16 @ 01:07

you talk about words in very negative language (ah language...) but words can also express emotion, bridge gaps in understanding, open us up to new possibilities, i can sometimes tell someone what i really feel in words written down - when spoken words never get close. we do communicate with words - but we control what we say, but is that wrong? think of donne (i think its donne) 'drink to me only with thine eyes..' or keats 'my heart aches and a drowsy numbness pains my sense as though of hemlock i had drank' - is this not communication?

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Confuddled ^pro
2007-12-16 @ 12:54

Aaaah! I admit that it was slightly deliberate - I was intrigued as to how many people would pick up on that.
As with you, when it comes to deep feelings, I find I can say more through the written word than the spoken.

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blacksheep63 ^pro
2007-12-16 @ 21:25

you were, in fact, playing with words - spoken words are often blown away on the breath, not listened to in the way that ink forces one to - there is something tangible about letters on a page that is more permanent (in several ways) than mere words that are spoken

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ranfuchs ^pro
2007-12-16 @ 01:47

An old sage used to ask his students if they understood the mind of the writier, not his words.

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Confuddled ^pro
2007-12-16 @ 12:55

Very wise!

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ranfuchs ^pro
2007-12-16 @ 13:01

that's the reasonhe was called an old sage :))

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Confuddled ^pro
2007-12-16 @ 13:05

Cheeky!!!!

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wendlane ^pro
2007-12-16 @ 21:27

Interesting post - I am particularly fascinated with words and how they can be put to rythmn or put in a certain pattern to produce magnificent poetry or songs. I also love the art in words -little shapes and squiggles which are on their own beautiful we take for granted. Just look at the shapes on this page -wonderful!

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Prettyintelligentprincess [Member]
2007-12-18 @ 00:25

Words are more powerful than anything else. Without words we lose our passion, as well as our strengths and weaknesses.

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Confuddled ^pro
2007-12-18 @ 21:42

I think it's the emotion behind the words that make them powerful. There is that study (name of which has slipped my mind at the mo) which proves that actions definately speak louder than words.

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