Tuesday, April 5

amelioration

on Tuesday, March 22, somebody googled the phrase what word will make everything better, and not surprisingly, the greatest of all search engines happened to point that somebody to this wonderful blog of mine. whoever it was didn't stick around. for all my writing about words and what they mean to me, I guess it's not immediately obvious that anything here has any practical application. my ramblings are not very helpful. (semi-random fact: the day before this happened, a completely different someone found me by searching for backwards pocketwatch reminder quote. sadly, that person didn't stay long either...)

words make everything better, so I say.

I really believe that, you know.


but which words? they've got to be the right ones, don't they? random words hardly constitute proper communication, and when I say words make everything better, I am really saying that communication will solve all your problems. communication is the answer. communication is essential. a lack of communication means everything starts falling apart. not being able to talk about things means not being able to fix them.

although... not all communication requires words. and sometimes, no matter how many words you use, communication fails. maybe there's too much noise. maybe there's nobody listening. maybe you don't mean what you say.

so maybe the secret isn't just words. there's a lot of stuff behind the words that make them powerful. communication takes effort. patience. understanding. that's why it can be so wonderful when you take time to make it work. when you and whoever you're talking to can give and take and build and rejoice. to make things better you need a few people to want them better. and then you just have to keep wanting it, and keep doing and saying whatever it takes to get there.

there isn't one single word that will ever automatically make everything better. sorry to say so, random googler, but I am not a magician.

can I say anything about what the right words might be? or how we might be able to sort them out of our lexicons and use them properly and recognize them when we see them in the world around us?

yes. I could say a million things about that. maybe I will have to start documenting moments in my life when words have made something better. I could start with songs. I could hint at a handful of crazy relationships. I could talk about my job.

any situation...

any collection of stories...

they need the right words. and the words need meaning, and they need authenticity.

one of those things you can get from a dictionary (more or less), and one of those things you can't get anywhere else but inside your heart.


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PS. for your information, I have revised my about page. and no, I don't think I will always tell you when I have revised my about page. it changes randomly, much like its subject tends to do.
also, I posted over here today. lovely old photographs. mm.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I too think words can make everything better. Maybe it's a writer thing. In my opinion without words, without communication, without the give and take that is inherent in speaking, typing and writing we are nothing better than somewhat intelligent apes. As always, I love your words.

Amelia Chesley said...

and that so nice of you to say. :)