Lately, I’ve been noticing a lot more instances of the gap between what reality is, and the words which we use to describe it. And it impressed upon me how limited words are in their capacity. Reality, on the other hand, quite literally, encompasses all there is.

Yet, when talking about things, people, ideas, we tend to get caught up in the words that are used. Not only that, words are not even objective; they are highly subjective. The same words can mean different things to different people, depending on their own personal journeys. (I’ve talked about this before, and if you’d like to explore this idea in slightly more detail, you can check out my post, “What Do You See And Hear?”)

Now imagine using something so limited and subjective like human vocabulary to describe the utterly rich and complex reality of the world around us. When we stop to think about it, it shouldn’t be surprising that there’s a huge gap between what we can describe with words, and the real thing.

But as Boyzone said, “It’s only words. And words are all I have.” We have to do with what we have. So, I’m not saying that we should just give up on using words to talk about things. But what we should do is to try and avoid getting boxed in by these words. We should remember that no matter what words we use, no matter how well we articulate something, reality will be, more often than not, way more than that.

The key is experience. We need to really live the thing we talk about to fully grasp and appreciate it. And until we can do that, we will do well to remember: it’s only words. And words are not enough.

Oh, and yeah, the irony of using words to describe how words are not sufficient to describe reality is not lost on me! 😅

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Credits: Quote by yours truly. Image created with Canva.