Language Rocks!

I drove my son to swimming training this evening and had a near miss with another car. Rounding a bend, I saw another car on my side of the road, then it swerved into it own lane just in the nick of time. But just before the driver passed me, I noticed something.

But wait…wait…What has this got to do with language?  I’m coming to it…

…Almost before the other driver passed me in a flash, out of the corner of my eye I saw his hand go up in apology, and saw him mouth “sorry.” So…there’s where language comes into this. In a potentially disastrous situation the other driver sorted his road positioning and had the time, and manners, to apologise to me in two ways: both visual, but both using different forms of language.

Everyone appreciates an apology, or should do anyway. It costs nothing and mends broken bonds.

So, what did I take from this? There are many forms of language, not just written. Sometimes a simple gesture can speak volumes and make a bad situation that little bit better. It’s knowing what to say and when to say it that’s important.

“See it all, till tomorrow”

What is Zen? Zen is a branch of Buddhism that combines spiritual philosophy with living life in a natural and spontaneous way. In what way does an ancient spiritual philosophy relate to modern written communication? Well, let’s explore how…

Why do, or should, we write? Well, we write to communicate ideas. OK, so why not just talk to someone face to face? Answer: it’s not always possible, the main reason is geographical location.  The written word circumvents this.

The written word not only makes it possible for us to write a letter, e-mail, text, or internet content, it lasts longer than the spoken word. For sure, “words are dodgy things”, as they can be misinterpreted and taken out of context, but the written word is historically more reliable than the spoken word, partly because it can be referenced from source material.

It’s up to historians and keen amateurs to offer interpretations of meaning. Letters and documents hundreds of years old still exist today in personal and national archives and libraries. They are studied by scholars and the layman day-in, day-out. Every word is pored over and analysed for meaning and intent. If the Internet Archive is anything to go by, doesn’t this mean that every word we write for the internet or any other print medium carries significant weight, not only for the present but for posterity? Of course it does.

So where does Zen come in (what does it mean anyway?) and how does an ancient philosophy fit in with writing in the 21st century…?

“See it all, till tomorrow”