Random Musings

Word … The Ultimate Four Letter Word

It may well be true that a picture is worth a thousand words, and I firmly believe that actions speak louder than words, but if I have a romantic notion that the pen is mightier than the sword, it only fuels my my absolute belief that the written word is a beautiful and unique facet, untainted in a modern world often bereft of the patience to fully appreciate it.

It is a fascination, fuelled maybe in complexity, but I sit in awe when considering a language in which a single word or intonation can have such diverse, and often polarised meaning.

Gillie Bolton is an author, and authority on creative writing, and once said, albeit in a wider context, that “Writing is a way of saying things I can’t say”. I can think of very few quotes that so accurately describe my thoughts on the way we write, and of course the words that we use.

We spend most of our lives being told to ‘keep our emotions in check’. There are many articles which chronicle Fear of Emotions, and that are readily available online.

However, I am no psychologist, so am prone to explain in somewhat simpler terms, and in that respect I can only summise that fear of emotion can lead only to what I describe as a tragic absence from someone’s life of the wonderful feelings of self-expression and self-awareness.

It is possibly why we so often receive cards and letters in our times of joy and sorrow. People, somehow, find it easier to expose their emotions and lay themselves bare in the use of the written, rather than spoken, word.

I received so many cards after the death of my fiancée Danielle in November 2009. Even my father found it easier to express his condolences in a letter as opposed to a phone call, which is not to say that we did not speak regularly.

Despite the associations with a traumatic period in my life, they all remain with me as the special tokens of friendship that they symbolised. Even now, when it becomes acutely clear that things are difficult, I have friends who will send me a poem or letter in the hope of inspiring a smile.

Whilst many may be aware of the beautiful words of Henry Scott Holland, especially his poem Death is Nothing at all, I recently found myself drawn to a piece of writing which has yet to be attributed to any author, and yet had the beauty and presence, for Queen Elizabeth to request its reading at the funeral of the Queen Mother.

You can shed tears that she is gone
or you can smile because she has lived.

You can close your eyes and pray that she’ll come back
or you can open your eyes and see all she’s left.

Your heart can be empty because you can’t see her
or you can be full of the love you shared.

You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday
or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.

You can remember her and only that she’s gone
or you can cherish her memory and let it live on.

You can cry and close your mind,
be empty and turn your back
or you can do what she’d want:
smile, open your eyes, love and go on.

Anon.

This is truly a special piece of writing, which has special resonance to me during this period of my life. Of course, words have no meaning unless they are backed up by action.

Words are unique in their ability to inspire us, but equally to destroy our fragile psyche. There is little more devastating than hollow words and broken promise.

Words have no essence without sincere meaning or belief, and they are both subjective to the recipient. So if you write and others do not listen, keep writing until you find those that do. If you read but don’t believe, keep reading more until you find the words that arouse you.

There is no more meaningful word in the dictionary than itself. It opens every avenue of thought, feeling and imagination, and if you allow it, raw emotion.

In my life, I continue to look to the words that lift me and provoke happiness, as with the poem above. In your lives, find the avenue of word that allows you to imagine a better tomorrow.