Words words words. Don’t you just love them! These collections of letters that help you form an impression in your mind, a picture, an image. You read the letters, you hear a sound, you form a picture. It’s an incredible thing. Why is it that when I see a W, an O, an R, a D and an S together that I know that I am talking about those millions of groups of letters that all mean different things to my brain?

If I see a pan it brings the letters p-a-n to mind. If I read or hear the word pan I have an instant image of a pan. What is even more incredible is that I might see a pan filled with bubbling water and hear an egg rattling against the sides. Another person might see a sirloin steak frying to perfection and might hear the sound and even smell or taste the meat. Just from that collection of three letters p-a-n. Words can be a gateway to opening up your senses. They can open up your emotions. Who has not cried when words are spoken at a funeral? Who has not laughed at a joke or marvelled at a clever play on words? Who has not been justly angry when someone has used a racist term? Or been shocked at words used inappropriately?

The power of words. They can inspire you to do great things. If I say the word “mountain” I may think of climbing and reaching great heights in life, but I also think of Martin Luther King looking out and seeing the Promised Land he would not see. That inspires me to fight racism with every ounce of my being. On another day, however, hearing the word mountain may remind me of that time when I got lost in the fog that suddenly descended on Ben Nevis while I was celebrating reaching the summit. It may evoke the negative recollection of being stranded but equally might bring back memories of how I navigated my way back down the mountain. One collection of letters can mean so many different things and that is just how I relate to the word. What about the billions of other people on the planet?

Now we come to an even more amazing thing. Everybody has some idea of what a mountain is, what it looks like, what it represents. We may see Everest, skiers, the Sound of Music, an avalanche, or just a primitive triangular cartoon peak backed by sky blue. But what about abstract concepts?

What about the four letters l-o-v-e? How can we picture that? What does it evoke? We have one word for the Ancient Greek words eros, philae and agape which are all different types of love. The first is erotic love or the love of desire, the second the deep love between family or friends and the third is the most radical. It’s that kind of love that is totally sacrificial and self-negating, that puts another person or thing or cause above our own desires, needs or feelings. Tradition presents us with pictures that come in to our mind when we hear the word, a red heart for example. Who sees a broken heart? Who has an image of tears rolling down an anguished face? Who sees a chocolate bar or a favourite dish? (because we “love” those things too, don’t we?)

Words, glorious words. Let’s love them, let’s use them wisely, let’s be liberated by them. Let them be the key that opens our imagination and our mind’s eye to a whole array of wonderful colours and experiences.

©Cre8ivation