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Going Beyond Words
What you want to say cannot be said, but you need to say it anyway
This morning, after breakfast, I began writing an article about the challenge of communicating anything meaningful via words — how to give voice to the ineffable, how to give shape to that which has no form, how to evoke the deepest feeling of wonder beyond the limitation of language.
I know it cannot be done, but I am going to do it, anyway — kind of like John Cage’s definition of poetry: “I have nothing to say; I am saying it, and that is poetry.”
And yet words, at least sometimes, have value. They do. As does music, art, dancing, photography, and a myriad of other forms of self-expression.
They may not be able to describe what we experience perfectly, but they can evoke.
What follows are some inspiring quotes I have found on this fascinating topic. See if there is at least one that speaks to you and, if it does, let it in.
“There is a voice that doesn’t use words. Listen.” — Rumi
“Words have no language that can utter the secrets of love.” — Hafiz
“In spite of language, in spite of intelligence and intuition and sympathy, one can never really communicate anything to anybody.” — Aldous Huxley
