Language is of only modest help. Every sentence is a wispy net, capturing a few flecks of meaning.
The sun shines without vocabulary. The salmon has no name for the urge that drives it upstream.
The newborn groping for the nipple knows hunger long before it knows a single word.
Even with an entire dictionary in one’s head, one eventually comes to the end of words.
Then what?
Then drink deep like the baby, swim like the salmon, burn like any brief star.
+Scott Russell Sander
This article is being written at the beginning of my 26th year of writing for Healthy Living News, the health and wellness newspaper in the Toledo area. Little did I know when I said “yes” to writing this column that I would still be writing for it in 2024! As newspapers go these days, no pun intended, I’m amazed at the longevity of this free, informative, and useful local newspaper.
I often read it from cover to cover and am humbled to be among the authors of so many talented writers. Kudos to the publisher, editor, and staff!
Writing, of course, requires words, and words form language. My favorite college English teacher, Sister Mary Lucilla, often comes to mind when I put my thoughts into words, oral or written. She was a stickler for proper grammar and would even correct you in an ordinary conversation, which you just got used to as it was her way of emphasizing the importance of proper language. Thanks to her research method for writing term papers, I was able to write several simultaneously when I was working on a master’s in Education at The University of Michigan (Go Blue!). She also happened to be the person who suggested that I attend UofM as they had one of the few programs in Gerontology in the United States at the time.
As I move along into elderhood, I still find words and language very useful. I do, however, appreciate more than ever the ability to use words like this—writing this article. I also am very aware of the possibility of losing my ability to use words orally or in writing. Some of my family and friends can no longer write a letter or send a card or talk on the phone. Forget texting, emails, and that other media stuff! Does this mean that we can no longer communicate in a meaningful way?
This is where the words of Scott Russell Sanders, quoted above, come into play. Just think of how many times you’ve been speechless after a unique or profound experience. How many times you did not need words to express gratitude, appreciation, kindness, love. There is a language beyond words and, like the sun, the salmon, the newborn baby, and the burning star, we are capable of communicating from somewhere deep inside our very selves.
Our challenge, perhaps, is to grow ever deeper in our relationships so words and language will not be the only way we communicate with one another and with all of creation.
Peace be with you!
Sister Mary Thill is a Sylvania Franciscan Sister. She can be reached at mthill@sistersosf.org.
