Dear Friends,
I saw a cartoon a few weeks ago. A woman opens her front door and finds a box on the step. She is delighted. “Ah! Here’s a new supply of words to describe the current situation!”
I write every day and often spend time searching for just the right word. When I first saw this cartoon, I imagined a box at my own doorstep. In it, I would find words to describe injustice, violence, war, famine, and drought. What impact these words could have on my congressional representative, the leaders and believers of my church, my friends, my readers.
I need a second box delivered. I need words to describe the good and the beautiful. I need an ongoing supply of healing words, words that encourage. I need words to tell stories of resilience. I need words to describe prophetic preaching, gardens in April and the crescent moon.
Reflection on my writing leads me to reflection on my speaking. In violent times like ours, my words lean toward the negative. I often join a chorus of critics. Words of frustration and anger come easily. If you recognize that tendency in your own language, join me in opening the second box of words that evoke hope. Together we will find the right words.
~ Susan Schantz SSJ
