Unless something is difficult to say, it is probably not worth saying. Everything that is easy to say comes easily because it has been said before. The words we have, we learned - and so too with the meaning associated with them. If it hadn't been said before, we would never have learned to say it ourselves. Language is learned socially and by means of repetition. We say what we hear; it is for this reason that the words of others come more easily than our own.
We seek that all-elusive perfect combination of profundity and originality. And if we cannot reach that apex, we may at the very least strive toward some approximation thereof. To speak means to contribute to the history of a language. To say something means to contribute new meaning to a culture. So what are you going to do with your words? Are you going to allow yourself to reinforce the repetitions of bygone eras and the values of others? Or are you going to truly speak and say something that bears repeating?
There is truth to be spoken. It is new and fresh, and it flows from an ever-fecund source that lies deeper than our deepest understandings. If we have the courage and determination to speak past our words, to find their inner meaning and give meaning itself new life, the truth may come forward and bear us as its witness. This is the heart of poetry (qua the creation of meaning) and the font of both beauty and truth in all their manifold forms. May we all, then, have the courage to speak new life into our words, and to transform our language thereby.
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2 comments:
Is is possible to reinvent past truths and make it your own? Are the "bygone eras and the values of others" worth reinforcing in your own words?
Also, is this similar to what you mean when you say we must live deliberately, we must also speak it, so that we are not merely repeating the words of others
I agree that poetry carries truth that is both original and beautiful and should be considered more important in society that it is done in contemporary times
It is absolutely possible to reinvent past truths to make them your own! And there are certainly often times in which it is appropriate to reinforce the truths of the past; the important thing is to be aware of the weight, value, impact and significance of the words that we use. In this way it is perhaps easier to speak truly when we are speaking "originally", as I have described in this post; and while it is possible to speak truly while repeating the truths of the past, it is difficult to be sure of the breadth of meaning that is wrapped up in these passed words, and so too difficult to know what exactly it is that you are giving affirmation to by speaking them.
This is absolutely related to my previous remarks on living deliberately. Fully conscious thoughts are the perfect parallel of deliberate actions.
Regarding poetry - see also "poiesis".
In conclusion, I fully agree with the drift of your thinking in response to this post.
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