May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May the Lord let his face shine on you
and be gracious to you.
May the Lord show you his face
and bring you peace. (Nb. 6:24-26)

Tuesday 23 June 2009

Words, Windows or Walls?

Words, windows or walls? Today I have been thinking on how we speak to each other; it is so easy to hurt others without realizing... I suddenly remembered this poem from a book I read last year. It reminds me that to talk is always as having a conversation through a land line, there are filters on both sides of the line. Filters change the sound of our voice, or at least, how it sounds to the one who listens. I, sometimes, wish that we could hear what people really want to say with the words they pronounce. What do you say about yourself? (John 1, 22)

Words are windows, or they’re walls,
They sentence us, or set us free.
When I speak and when I hear,
Let the love light shine through me.
There are things I need to say,

Things that mean so much to me,
If my words don’t make me clear,
Will you help me to be free?
If I seemed to put you down,
If you felt I didn’t care,
Try to listen through my words
To the feelings that we share.

–By Ruth Bebermeyer
(Marshall Rosenberg Nonviolent Communications 2003)

John 1, 22 So they said to him, 'Who are you? We must take back an answer to those who sent us. What have you to say about yourself?'

2 comments:

  1. I noticed you posted 2 poems in a row. Since you're interested in both poetry and faith, I thought you might be interested in thebibleinrhyme.com as it is both.

    Let me know what you think.

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  2. One of the things I notice about this is the rampant lack of respect that has happened in our society. There is this movement to keep it real, and expose even the most private things about someone even though it may have no effect on my own life at all. The thinking being, I presume, that being polite is fake and being up front is real. Frankly, I don't think people are either as rude as they are displayed by popular media or as invincible to the effects of others words. It's important to keep our hearts loving our fellow man, for from the heart the mouth speaks, and also to remember that being polite, like all morality, works because it is the wisest course. Even if we don't get to know each other better, we as a society can better communicate and hold together as civilized beings by practicing a kind of generic social policy with our neighbor.

    http://hubiegoode.blogspot.com

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