If We Want to Focus on a More Beautiful World, Words Matter
If we keep fighting wars with words, peace will never happen
Our minds want security. They want to hold on to a certainty, tightly, and be safe. Therefore, our minds make boxes. Safe walls. Stay in. Fight everything that’s out there. And in our stories and words, it shows.
We live in a masculine world. Fighting is normal. Our stories are full of violent men, portrayed as heroes. The internet is full of trolls, who want to stir things up. Say they are right, only they are right! We polarize. It makes us feel safe.
And don’t think only others do it. We all do! I did it. Often. When I started to understand the truth about sustainability, about regeneration, I shouted it from the rooftops. Don’t you understand? Stupid fools!
All the while, many people idealize peace. The songs about it are endless and The Beatles are still mighty popular. Imagine, Give Peace a Chance, Across the Universe, to name a few.
So if we want peace, will polarizing bring us there? Is there another way?
What if we would merge the two? What if we would be fierce with lots of joy in the mix? What if we would speak our truth without bashing other opinions? Rational, emotional and positively surprising?
Let me give you an example from my own field of work: sustainability, regeneration. My motto is: “Let’s restore ecosystems and learn as human beings to live within the boundaries of our planet.”
So why do we ‘fight’ global warming? It’s nature, isn’t it? It’s our planet, our home. But we ‘combat’, we are in a ‘battle’, we are on a ‘crusade’. All these words imply that climate change is the enemy and it needs to be slain.
Whereas in reality, we need to take up our proper role within the ecosystems. Use care and responsibility to prevent waste and make our home a better place for all. The book ‘Drawdown by Paul Hawken’ has a very enlightening page about the use of words in climate-change-land.
“The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their proper name.” — Confucius
Does that mean we cannot rant anymore? No! We can! We should!
Let’s just be aware of our own clichés. Rant more intelligently. And not only about nature. Be aware of all the clichés in race- and gender-related matters and everything else. Use words that throw your readers off the track at the positive side of the road. The peaceful side.
Use the power of surprise. It’ll make your prose stronger!
One person that does this beautifully, is Heather Jo Flores. She is way more fierce than I am! An activist. An unapologetic ecofeminist. But she’s always inclusive. Choosing her words. She doesn’t tolerate bullying. While she has compassionate words for the bully as well.
“Don’t be afraid to be open-minded. Your brain isn’t going to fall out.” — Chameli Ardagh, Awakening Women’s Institute
Some tips and tricks:
- When your story is finished, read it again from a different perspective. Be a child. Or a grandma. Or a mouse.
- When you become aware of fighting language, find opposites and use them in unexpected ways.
- Use the power of three to throw readers off-track. Use two words readers would expect and the third gives them a wise perspective.
- Write about sheroes instead of heroes more often and make these strong women non-cliché.
- Use a mix of the basic emotions anger, fear and grief in your rants. And don’t forget the fourth: joy! Never forget happiness!
On the lookout for a book
On May 19, 2020, ‘Humankind’ By Rutger Bregman will be published in English. In Dutch, the book is already on the bestseller list since September 2019.
In Western thought (from Freud to Pinker) we have come up with the conclusion that humans are bad rather than good. It brings out the worst in our politics and economics. Can we start believing that human kindness is real? Will this unleash a true change in our world?
If you want to connect, you can find me on LinkedIn or somewhere having fun with the foxes…