Quantum Happiness series- Conscious Conversation.

“Words are like shadows. There’s no such thing as just a word. Something is always behind it.”

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To effectively escape ennui, we must uncover our goals, make them a priority, and communicate that intention to ourselves as well as others because if our goals aren’t a priority to us, they won’t be a priority to anyone else. By paying attention to how we communicate with ourselves and others, we become an effective leader of our own life.

Communication, by definition, is the process of encoding and decoding information.

We encode by

Speaking
Writing
Body language
Creation (art, music, painting, sculpture, electronic content, etc.)

We decode by

listening
reading
interpreting (body language, art, music, painting, sculpture, content, etc.)

This communication process allows us to have an infinite conversation across time, sharing information and knowledge from generation to generation.

Timeless conversation

“Although only breath, words,
which I command, are immortal.”
– Sappho.

My grandson, Tyler, recently discovered Harry Potter and convinced me to watch “The Sorcerer’s Stone,” a.k.a. “The Philosopher’s Stone,” with him one Saturday evening. I had not seen the young wizard for more than a decade and had forgotten most of the story.

To my surprise, Tyler and Harry have a lot in common. They both lost their parents at a young age. They are both small in stature with glasses. And they are both raised by family members. Unlike Harry, Tyler’s aunt and uncle, who are his guardians, take good, loving care of him and his sister.

While the fictional Harry was shopping for a magic wand, I whispered to Tyler,

“Granny has a magic wand too.”

He was intrigued.

The magic of words

After the movie, Tyler wanted to see my wand, so I took him to my writing studio and showed him a sleek, golden mechanical pencil. After a close examination and a couple of failed spells, he informed me,

“It’s just a pencil.”

“There’s no such thing as ‘just a pencil,’” I replied.

Ancient people believed the written word was magic because written words brought knowledge, and with knowledge comes power. Individual written words were considered tiny spells, which later became known as “spelling.”

J.K. Rowling, who wrote Harry Potter, is the first self-made billionaire author. The magic of her words raised her from the depths of poverty, transforming her life and the lives of others around the world.

“Words are our most inexhaustible source of magic,” she says.

More magic

After I explained this to Tyler, I gave him his own mechanical pencil bejeweled with rhinestones and sparkles. He later showed me a letter that he had written to his Mommy.

Words gave him the power to reach across time and space and speak to the mother that he had lost. One day he and his sister will be old enough to read her journals, and then words will give her a voice and the power to speak to her children more than a decade after her death. Spelling at its finest.

Shakespeare’s still here

Shakespeare is a prime, historical example of this continuous conversation.

The Bard, as he is known, wrote plays that were performed during his lifetime. His peers reviewed them and communicated directly with Shakespeare about the performance. Since his death, his plays continue to be produced, reviewed and discussed. Today, more than 400 years later, his work remains as alive, vibrant, and powerful as ever.

The conversation continues.

Biblical beginnings

Another historical example of powerful words that stand the test of time comes from the Bible itself.

“And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light,” Genesis 1:3.

What better example can there be of word power.

Aside from this particular quote, the Bible itself provides a fantastic example of continuous conversation. For thousands of years, the Bible has been read, discussed, and debated in churches, schools, and homes around the world. It is truly a conversation as old as time and continues to be as powerful and prevalent today as it was thousands of years ago.

LEARN HOW TO HAVE A CONSCIOUS CONVERSATION

Engagement exercise 1:

Choose one historical figure with whom you would like to have a conversation. Then search for quotes by that person. List at least one quote below that speaks to you from across the ether.

____________________________________________________

Engagement exercise 2:

Now document what you would say to that historical figure in response to the chosen quote.

____________________________________________________

This has been an excerpt from the Everyday Vacay e-series.

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