i wonder what a word is
is it a thing that can rightly be called a thing
does it have boundaries
does it have lines that i can draw, see and share with others
does it have limits
sometimes, it feels like it does
sometimes, words seem to flutter as leaves do at the base of the highest mountains in the most magnificent lands
the lands, of course, of feeling
of being
and other times, words greet you with the embrace of an ocean,
deep blue, deep, blue, welcoming,
infinite
the way i see it, i guess, either purpose was prior to the word, or the word was prior to purpose
but, you can rule out the latter
for, the substance of word is meaning, and meaning is grounded in purpose
that is, you cannot have a word without meaning, and you cannot have meaning without purpose
it follows, then, that a ‘word’ prior to purpose would constitute a contradiction fundamental to the nature of the word
so, it seems to be the case that purpose preceded the word,
purpose preceded the birth of the element of human communication
purpose, thereby, preceded the genesis of worded thought
to seek purpose, then, in the vast majority of the manifold ways in which we are taught to in contemporary society, paths structured and contained by worded thought, is an absurdity
further, the word, it appears, has been corrupted
humanity has enslaved the word and rapaciously groomed it into a servant of violence
the word, we must have realized, was a dance, a song, a story, through which we could stay with others, a medium through which we could share purpose with each other, a foundation upon which we could build society,
and breathe, together
in a home of love, an economy of word, where transaction is without traditional temporal value, for this kind of value defines social activity as a divisive struggle, might come about,
and in such a world, the word may act not only to bring purposes together, but also serve as the basis upon which an altogether different purpose arises,
one of all people,
the people
now, the character of meaning had to be configured before any particular meaning was attributed to any particular word; that is, the unifying device of the word, meaning, holds all words derived thereof in its domain
let us call this character of meaning the ‘source meaning’
it is evident that, at a critical historical juncture, violence was chosen as the source meaning
why was violence chosen, in lieu of love?
how was violence chosen, in lieu of love?
we set sleeping innocence aflame, and brutally proceeded to turn violence into the despotic ruler of a dehumanizing system of oppression
our being together, our language, our words, all of it – poisoned
lost, but not forgotten
broken, but not hopeless
the amputation of purpose, the mockery of truth, the murder of freedom,
comprise the challenge that is reality,
a challenge that we must meet,
for we must end the rape of the word,
and love must be liberated
we can overthrow the tyrant that is violence,
for the mind is the origin of its power
we must overthrow the tyrant that is violence,
for, in the last analysis, the peace that is justice demands it
-j