A human being is part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. We experience ourselves, our thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest. A kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from the prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. The true value of a human being is determined by the measure and the sense in which they have obtained liberation from the self. We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if humanity is to survive.
~ Albert Einstein, 1954
Category Archives: Inspirational
The Power of Words – A Blog Cross-Post
from June 21, 2010, on my “other blog” at http://thedeanblog.com
By LBA
As part of my summer reading, I’ve been working on Old Path White Clouds by Thich Nhat Hanh. During my reading yesterday, I came across this quote:
Do not speak words that can create division and hatred. Your words should be in accord with the truth. Yes means yes. No means no. Words have the power to create trust and happiness, or they can create misunderstanding and hatred and even lead to murder and war. Please use words with the greatest care.
It really struck a chord with me, because of what I (we) study, and also given many recent issues in the news. The power of communication is a complicated issue. After all, words only mean what we allow them to mean – they are simply random collections of sound. However, that isn’t completely true; once meaning is associated with language, it takes on power. We know this in our own lives, where we have hurt others, and been hurt, by something said. Perhaps you knew it when we were children and cried over a hurtful comment. Your parents may have told us the saying, “sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” But, did we believe them? If you are like me, you may well have found yourself thinking, “Well, that is silly; words CAN hurt me – they just did!” Maybe you realized the power of words the first time you said, “I HATE you!” to a family member or friend and saw the pain it created.
On the other hand, I’ve recently been told by a young adult that online flaming or bullying shouldn’t matter, because it’s simply words and people should not care about what is said to/about them in social media settings. And, I understand the point that he was making. Such words only have power if we allow them to – they cannot hurt us without our permission. And yet…
So, what is the reality of the power of words? Well, it seems to me that, by being scholars of communication, we have acknowledged that communication forms, including the verbal, have power and importance in our lives. In fact, many communication scholars would say that communication is the fundamental factor of our very humanity. And, regardless of whether we should or shouldn’t allow the words of others to affect us, they do. And in the face of that truth, Thich Nhat Hanh’s advice makes sense.
LBA
If Only We Could All See the Miracle in Others
Events in the news lately have been making me quite sorrowful that we cannot all see what is amazing in one an other and treat each other like the wonders that we are. And, that made me think of this piece by Walt Whitman.
Miracles By Walt Whitman
Why! who makes much of a miracle?
As to me, I know of nothing else but miracles,
Whether I walk the streets of Manhattan,
Or dart my sight over the roofs of houses toward the sky,
Or wade with naked feet along the beach, just in the edge of the water,
Or stand under trees in the woods,
Or talk by day with any one I love–or sleep in the bed at night with
any one I love,
Or sit at table at dinner with my mother,
Or look at strangers opposite me riding in the car,
Or watch honey-bees busy around the hive, of a summer forenoon,
Or animals feeding in the fields,
Or birds–or the wonderfulness of insects in the air,
Or the wonderfulness of the sun-down–or of stars shining so quiet
and bright,
Or the exquisite, delicate, thin curve of the new moon in spring;
Or whether I go among those I like best, and that like me best–
mechanics, boatmen, farmers,
Or among the savans–or to the soiree–or to the opera,
Or stand a long while looking at the movements of machinery,
Or behold children at their sports,
Or the admirable sight of the perfect old man, or the perfect old
woman,
Or the sick in hospitals, or the dead carried to burial,
Or my own eyes and figure in the glass;
These, with the rest, one and all, are to me miracles,
The whole referring–yet each distinct, and in its place.To me, every hour of the light and dark is a miracle,
Every cubic inch of space is a miracle,
Every square yard of the surface of the earth is spread with the same,
Every foot of the interior swarms with the same;
Every spear of grass–the frames, limbs, organs, of men and women,
and all that concerns them,
All these to me are unspeakably perfect miracles.To me the sea is a continual miracle;
The fishes that swim–the rocks–the motion of the waves–the ships,
with men in them,
What stranger miracles are there?– Walt Whitman