The Turning of a Phrase

Susan shares thoughts on the power of words, inspired by this YouTube video and the writings of Henri Nouwen.

 

Solitude, silence and prayer are the three disciplines Henri Nouwen expounds on in his book, The Way of the Heart. Nouwen was inspired by the Apophthegmata Patrum, The Sayings of the Desert Fathers... “The Fathers—and there were Mothers, too,  were Christians who lived in  the Egyptian Desert during the fourth and fifth centuries, becoming witnesses against the destructive powers of evil, witnesses for the saving power of Jesus Christ.” The book doesn’t suggest that we all ‘head for the hills!’ It does offer keen, spiritual  perspectives for our  lives in the 20th century.  We all face the challenge of surrendering the constant distractions and noise of our world for the Way of the Heart that leads us to God.

 
The second chapter of this book, Our Wordy World, has gotten my attention because I love words! One of the things Nouwen suggests is that words have lost their creative power to communicate...“One reason words have lost power and we have lost confidence in them is that we live in a giant dictionary of words…”Use me, take me, buy me, drink me, smell me, touch me, kiss me, sleep with me. In such a world, who can maintain respect for words?”  There are too many words around us and frequently, too many coming out of us. If I don’t have anything helpful to say, a person may be better served if I keep my mouth closed. They would be blessed by silence rather than inauthentic, shallow words or degrading, nagging words.  Arsenius, a Roman educator, who exchanged his status and wealth for the solitude of the desert, said, “I have often repented of having spoken, but never of having remained silent.”

 
Does that mean we should all shut up and not talk to each other?  No - we shouldn’t take ’silence’  literally in all situations. In fact, we can be silent on the outside and seething on the inside!  That’s not good! Silence of the heart is more important than silence of the mouth.  Nourishing the empty, neglected places inside of us helps us respond to others with meaningful, positive, loving words.
 
A  dear friend sent me the video, The Power of Words, when I was reading this chapter.  Words make all the difference in the life of the blind man in the video. A caring stranger knew how to use words in a way that was charitable even though the words aren’t audible. Her kind words, ’the turning of a phrase,’   set forth hope and joy to a person in great need.
 
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hzgzim5m7oU