When the Servant Becomes the Master
I know a young girl that talks and talks. She started talking early and has not stopped. It’s almost like she is using language to make sure she is real, that others are there and she is connected to them. And this got me thinking…
Words are powerful and so helpful in managing the ongoing overwhelm of being human.
When experience is too much, the mind kicks in with all types categorizations, labels, judgments, predictions, analyses, rationalizations, etc., etc.
And what is the cost of all those words?
They can control and package experience prematurely. This provides an illusion of control that may serve us in the moment but can build up as a “film” between us and others, between ourselves and what we encounter.
A possible helpful takeaway from all this is:
While words are helpful in managing our experience, the ideal order is to remain open (to the best of one’s ability) to more fully feel and allow what is, and only then to use more fully utilize language to communicate (to oneself and maybe others) what is now a more direct take on the experience.
Otherwise the tool becomes the master.
