Precision and Grace
Stop. Now breathe. Listen to yourself. Focus on the words. How did you form them? Where did you learn these words? Some believe they came from thin air. Others suggest that they are taught to you. And a few maintain that they read them once. I choose to believe in all of this and none. Words are one of the greatest mysteries of life to date. We can trace back to some of the earliest forms of writing. We wonder how the words we found came to be in our possession. The truth, however, is not in the form, but in the words themselves- individually.
Even as I sit here and type I find myself thinking about each individual word. Without one word I cannot move onto the next, and that is how sentences are formed. By a show of hands, how many of you have sat down and studied one particular word? All it takes is one word to change a life forever; for better or worse I cannot say. Everybody has one word that can instantly alter their perspective, but most of us don’t know what it is. We cannot deny the existence of such a word because it will appear at perhaps the most inappropriate of times.
It is difficult to find a word with no meaning whatsoever in any language that has been or will be written. A word without meaning is in fact nowhere near being a word at all but instead is a random arrangement of sounds. Now you can argue that all words are just random assortments of sounds and you would be correct in the sense of logic. You fail to recognize that words are illogical and we as a whole make them logical through common understanding and a need for structure.
Structure and word choice is what keeps societies together and drives individuals to communicate their common knowledge of words and meanings to form a bond. No matter how hard one tries to be different, they will always willingly share their words and ideas and feelings with the rest of the world. I myself am currently communicating to you through words of my own design, and yet we have a bond where what I write is what you read.
I believe that now is the time to let you all in on a little secret; none of you have been focusing on the words I have written. If you had been focusing on the words instead of the sentences as a whole you would have realized that each sentence I write gradually increases by one word. Now that I have your attention, I can proudly declare that this sentence alone will have exactly thirty words by the time I am finished choosing what to write down.
I implore you to now go back to the top of this essay and count each individual word just so that you know I am not playing a game. Take your time and really count the words in each sentence that I have provided for you just so that you and I both know I am truthful. Hopefully you now believe me when I say that I was not lying and now we can move on with our relationship and finish this essay together.
Perhaps by now I should call it quits and assume you understand what I mean when I say that individual words are more important than sentences. But then again that would not be fun and then I couldn’t continue on about my word rant and then our time together would end. So instead I shall persevere for your sake, and a little of my own, and we shall continue to build our word-based relationship.
I would be lying if I said that I was not even a little proud that we have made it this far together. In fact, I am inclined to believe that by this point you are studying each of my words carefully and with respect. If you are then my essay has not been a pointless mesh of words and we are better individuals for it. If not, then once again I ask that you go back and really take into consideration what I am saying.
If you are paying attention to my words, then you will realize that my sentences are becoming increasingly smaller. Just as a point of reference, this sentence you are reading contains eighteen words; no more, no less. And to continue, this sentence will only be made up of seventeen distinct words with no repetitions. My greatest hope right now is that the previous two sentences gave you something to ponder. If you find yourself becoming absolutely bored of my words then we can try again. A true master of words can count out the exact number in each sentence. It takes time to learn how to treat each word as an individual. Writers are so concerned with the final piece that words lose meaning. Be conscious of word choice; not in quantity, but in quality.
As we come to the end, so does our bond. Once we are done, you will forget about me. You will forget what I said about words. Most disappointingly, you will lose this paper. Make sure your words always matter. Remember to count them daily. Treat them with respect. Listen to yourself. Now breathe. Begin.
