convey

Had a reminder today of the bright side of words, a side I often overlook in my cynical rants about their capacity to delude. I gave it some thought and it's true - words can also be nourishing and clarifying. It's true that without them we wouldn't be nearly as able to delude and manipulate one another but we'd also be sorely limited in our capacity to share one another's perspectives and clarity.

One of the most important factors seems to be the intent and energy behind the words. That's what can be easy to miss behind the words themselves. The words in themselves are essentially empty vehicles to convey something deeper than them. A way to extend either the will of the ego or that of the heart/spirit outward into the world and into each other. They can create a lot of complexity, but also nuance. They can create a lot of division, but also unification. They can convey ill will, but also care.

So, maybe, rather than looking at them so harshly I can shift my perspective a little and focus more on the intent and use of words. Accept them as another part of life with an equal capacity for benefit and harm. Another aspect of the universal harmony playing with/against itself. Another way that it's expressed in the endless interplay of light and dark, truth and falsehood, emptiness and form, silence and sound.