In the Beginning was the Word...

In my mind, thoughts swirl then percolate into words, relieved of their meaning they leave my lips and appear before me like the barren limbs of a tree.

I am listening to a narration of a series of letters written by a great warrior from the 19^th century whom went by the name of his paternal grandfather – Abraham Lincoln. I have often admired the precision and flair with which people have expressed themselves in the past. No doubt back then an educated person commanded a wider vocabulary. When we consistently express ourselves in such a way we create the conditions that propel us toward our dreams. A. Lincoln is an easy example of this. Here is a master magician of the word, I present an example of a famous letter that he wrote during the American Civil War in response to a mother that he supposed had lost all 5 of her sons in the war.

“

Executive Mansion,
Washington, Nov. 21, 1864.

Dear Madam,

I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle. I feel how weak and fruitless must be any word of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save. I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.

Yours, very sincerely and respectfully,

A. Lincoln”

The eloquence of this man seems unmatched these days.

In this age of information technology our words are often taken for granted by the ease of communication – Facebook, sms, Tweeter. We post thoughts on a whim and it is broadcast across the global public domain in an instant. With such flurry of communication, the effort we put into the accuracy of our expression is diminished by the dispensable and/or editable nature of our words. We have forgotten that our words have the power to create who we are. When we are not impeccable with our words such as when we exaggerate or habitually borrow other people’s expressions, our careless and whimsical weaving leads to frayed and useless cloth. When our statements are expressed in a steady conscientious manner, impeccable words can weave magnificent robes. The right expressions can ignite dormant parts of our selves. Most harmful is when we express ourselves in a lazy manner and then begin to adopt our expression as the truth about ourselves, or when we cast venomous words that infect another, if we are not careful the effect remains a lifetime; consider that so much of our mental suffering stems from words that were directed at us long ago. And consider that the word has the power to reshape your belief, repeat anything out loud daily and you inevitably begin to subscribe to it.

Indeed without the power of my words, The Bright Path would largely be a figment of my imagination. Having said that, words can only ever be signposts and never the destination. Where this path goes, words will ultimately fail. Perhaps that is why I have been posting less. Most days are spent doing yoga and taichi, exploring the commonality between the Tao, Christ’s teachings, Tantra and the warrior path, much of my experiential learning cannot be conveyed adequately. But there is still an inclination that compels me to journal again, somehow I feel that this journaling fulfils me. It is a creative expression and I feel joy when I write. I believe we are all meant to create a story of our life, it is our artistry – we are artisans the moment we pick our tools.