However I was intrigued about one comment she made in the article. She was talking about what William Burroughs, (another writer,) had previously said about language being like a virus.
She goes on to say, “ To say that language is a disease communicable by mouth is very odd, yet if you listen to any conversation you realise it is just people saying the same thing over and over.
”We can get by in a day with 500 words, probably because so many conversations are on automatic. But if you start using language the way Burroughs did, kind of dangerous in original and crazy ways, then it’s one of the most beautiful tools ever invented. It is so sharp.”
Here I have to admit to being a bit of a cultural philistine here and say that I have heard of neither Anderson or Burroughs before. However I was intrigued by their recognition of how our language, our conversations, our words can either be viruses or beautiful sharp tools.
How about your daily conversations? Are you using just a few words but repeatedly in every conversation? Or are your conversations varied and interesting? Even if you still only use a few hundred words each day, are they the same old handful or new ones every day?
At the moment I am preaching my way through the book of Romans, and in my messages the word righteousness keeps coming up. Now I can spell that word with no trouble at all. Now I can, but that was not always so.
Some 20 years ago I had to write a 3000 word Essay on Reconciliation in the writings of the Apostle Paul. Unfortunately for me, that was in the days of pen and Ink and white-out was used repetitively until I got the word “righteousness” right every time I wrote it.
I have no actual proof of the percentage, but it seemed to me at the time, that a good 10% of that 3000-word essay was the word “righteousness” used constantly. And now in this series of sermons, it again has a high percentage of usage.
What I am trying to say here, is that there is no problem with repetitive usage of words and themes for a season or two, and you may even get to recycle them again years down the track, but there is always a time to move on to new ideas and new words. Not to impress people but to avoid passing on old information.
Today I would like to ask you to analyse your most recent conversations and come to a conclusion whether they are simply viruses that you are trying to pass on, or whether they are beautiful and sharp tools?
I like to think that my blogs are of the later type, but if you think that they are more of the former, please let me know so that I can start looking for a cure for my virus. But again, how about you? Are you a virus, or a sharp and beautiful tool?
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