The Right Word!
The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause.
Mark Twain
Remembering the Jack Benny ‘pause’ as he and his Charley McCarthy provided radio duo-logue and I wondered if something was wrong with the radio transmission. And then after a moment, he continued or Charley McCarthy interrupted. Mark Twain was right.
Sometimes I view Mother’s file cabinet of writing and wonder about her desire to write. She wrote, During a serious illness in 1960, my mind was obsessed with words like strings of tiny pearls. Even when I recovered, I could not shake them. I was left with the urgent sense of writing that never diminished.”
Mother’s love affair with ‘strings of words’ continued. Just as she could not go to sleep until she wrote down the words that circled her mind, I wake up with words and ideas swirling in a cloud. Mother often would learn a new word and ‘drop’ it on me. Creche, inadvertently and incessantly were three words I learned from her. She spent hours with the dictionary and thesaurus learning about words and using them in her stories and poetry. Mother also influenced our four children to write with facility, fluency and efficiency.
Once I heard a ‘what if’ that intrigued me. The science of this thought escapes me, but what if words, once uttered, circled the earth through all time? The speeches of Abraham Lincoln, the words of Jesus, the oratory of Greek philosophers still echo through the written word. If our words could continue through time, would we more carefully determine what these words are?
So often I hear – ‘I wish I had asked my grandfather more questions about his life’. The young do not understand the importance of family history. How I would love to capture conversations of the past in my family. What did my great grandparents say on the ship as they came to United States? What did my Mom say as she walked through heavy snow to go to church as a small girl? What were the sermons my Grandpa Siemens preached? What were my Grandmother Suderman’s hopes and dreams as a young bride, white-washing the dirt floor of her first home? Did my Grandpa Suderman despair when he lost three sons in death? What words did he say in his prayer to God? What did my Grandmother (Grosmom) Siemens think when she traveled across the ocean to America from Saratov, Russia? Journals often chronicle the past.
So many words have been spoken through the years. And now, we are deluged with a storm of words and noise every moment of our lives through the miracle of technology. Yet these words often do not penetrate the heart when we hear the deluge of world wide events instantaneously.
Growing up in a two-language household, I learned early to listen carefully and to understand their message. To my delight, recently I have met several Chinese friends. Although their English may not be faultless, it is part of their charm. I listen carefully to their words. Perhaps if we listen with all our senses communication would indeed be more transparent and efficient.
Writing prose or poetry can be as confusing as composing music. Both have lists of words to use and chords and 88 keys to play. As in both — the rhythm adds complexity and interest of the messages sent. The harmony of the words and music make an indelible message on the heart. When there is a dissonance in either, the message is lost. The writer and the composer must clarify the focus of their message.
When visiting a high school creative writing class, I was astonished at the number of expletives that were employed in the name of creativity. When words are dressed up in the rags of foul language they become mind-numbing. The impression made, whether on facebook, a letter or twitter becomes a public declaration of one’s heart. Yes, vocabulary counts.
For words come from the overflow of the heart. “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.”
– Luke 6:45
Are words spoken or written for self-aggrandizement or condemnation, or are they filled with encouragement and hope? I watch the countenances of children change from tears to smiles just because of the words spoken. I have seen the hopelessness of older folks change from fear to hope and happiness. The right word is needed…to comfort and to cheer, to bring hope and peace.
Twitter is an interesting communication tool that teaches choosing the right word. I have read Twitters that convey sorrow, laughter, sympathy, wonderment and more questions, all within the limits of 147 characters. It has taught me that communication can occur within brevity. Whenever a fast-talking person drowns me in a wave of words, I immediately realize there may be something awry and I become wary of the message. When the message is obscured in 5 syllable words, and the meaning is not clear, I consider the messenger suspect.
It is amazing to me how the language that comes from the body can underscore or negate the message of words. I cringe when I hear a young mother accuse her young child of lying. What does this teach a child? Choosing the right word is so important in every avenue and every time of life.
Verbal manipulation is deadly. It slices through friendships, families and our worlds of politics and business. It destroys compassion and civility. Where can we find the right word? What is the right word?
God’s wisdom in the writing of Apostle Paul tells me the right word…..
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
I Corinthians 13:13