By Carol Blotter
•
February 1, 2023
The day you teach the child the name of the bird, the child will never see the bird again. J. Krishnamurti The word is never the thing. It’s been said by many in lots of ways. When we hear that teaching, we understand it intellectually. A cow is a word, a name, and is not the one ton animal with an udder that goes moo. The word is only a sign for the animal. However, when we rely on the word, it removes us from the actual amazing creature that can smell from 6 miles away. We see a cow, not “that” particular cow. All of languaging has the same quality; it is representative, at least a step away from whatever it is labeling. And every word has no value or reality except as we, by mutual agreement, give it. Similar to paper money, it is only worth something by our implication. However, in our lives, we act as if the word is reality. We give it great meaning. We develop stereotypes by thinking all cows are the same, each human of a group is the same… By reducing experience to a single word, we tend to forget the history, the features, the uniqueness. Generalizing, we lose touch with the actual experience. Language is not reality. Words hide the moment to moment experience, our only reality. Words represent learned behavior which may or may not be accurate. Usually we react to the word without experiencing the present moment. To be present with reality, to recognize the complex present moment for whatever it holds is to be alive. For example, the word “fear” in and of itself is often enough for us to avoid the feeling. Yet, what are the body sensations that accompany the experience of “fear.” The sensations are probably unpleasant. Can you be present with sensations? The answer is yes because you have been and you are. Yet the word can influence and control our actions before we “know” the moment. Have you really explored sensations without the overlay of the word? When interacting with someone, do you interact with an image from the past or with what is presenting itself in this moment? So often, we carry the past into our present moment with our thoughts and words. We see our partner as the person they were 20 years ago and miss their complexity of right now. Or we see a member of a “group” and immediately assume they have all the qualities of the “group” that we believe. Alfred H.S. Korzybski, often called the father of the science of linguistics, said “human knowledge of the world is limited by language.” Grab the opportunity to expand your knowledge by engaging sensations, sights, sounds without the overlay of a label. Perhaps you’ll discover more of the amazing beauty that’s here.