Words do not express thoughts very well. They always become a little different immediately they are expressed, a little distorted, a little foolish.

Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha

Words have been very present in my thoughts lately, both spoken and written words. Over the years there have been numerous times when I have opened my mouth, words have jumbled out, and I immediately wished I could pull them back in. This is impossible. Perhaps the habit held by so many these days to begin any sentence with “I mean” is related to this fear of possibly needing to clarify even before the words are released. Being understood is a treasure; being misunderstood can be painful.

Wordless communication is beautiful; the eyes convey a depth of meaning impossible to reach with spoken words. But I also do crave conversation that is at times rich and thoughtful and other times playful. I even crave the hard conversations that lead to pruning which leads to new growth. For this to happen, eye contact and mutual trust is essential. Joy emerges in the presence of this level of relationship.