Michael Meade: When Words Matter

An illuminating, important, and wise essay from one

of my longtime teachers, Michael Meade. Deep bow 

of gratitude. May we hear this vital message and

respond wisely to these deeper truths. — Molly

 

 By Michael Meade

Anyone who has been in a real crisis knows that words matter. Words have energy and the potential to hurt and harm; they also have the power to help and heal. At certain times, words can be the most powerful force available to humans.

 

There is an old teaching story that begins where a child has fallen quite ill and none of the local doctors can affect a cure. The distraught parents called upon a revered old Sufi. He came and spoke some words over the child, concluding by saying: ‘Now, the child will be well.’

 

Many people had gathered and some were antagonistic to the idea of words being so important and talking being capable of healing. It was a troubled time and people had developed a habit of taking opposing sides no matter what issue arose. A man said, “How can speaking a few words heal someone or change a situation really. I think this is a sham and nothing but another hoax.”

 

The old Sufi was known to be a contemplative person, but he was not unable to become roused and heated. “You understand nothing about this. What you consider to be thinking is simply rearranging your prejudices. Though your eyes see and your ears hear, you learn nothing of life. You are in danger of becoming a fool simply enamored of your own voice.”

 

The man felt immediately humiliated before everyone and deeply offended. He jumped to his feet turning red with the heat of shame and anger. The old Sufi said: “Consider that when a few words can change your whole demeanor, make you heated and angry against your own will, why should words not also have the power to heal?”

 

Words have power and when it comes to the Covid-19 pandemic, false or misleading words can become a matter of life and death on a large scale. Words also matter when it comes to the crisis of violence against people of color where code words and divisive language can incite more violence and cause more deaths. Words have power and the words of those who happen to be in power can have the effect of making the crisis worse, when the opportunity for healing is just as present and also possible.

 

 “The Greek word crisis originally referred to a turning point in a disease, a critical moment that can result in a change for the better or a worsening of the illness.”

 

We are in such a crisis when it comes to the epidemic of racial violence. Words can help lead us to a long overdue healing or else pour salt on old wounds and add to the heartless bloodshed and tragic killings.      

 

Many ancient people understood that blood has its own power and can represent the sacredness of life. When blood is shed unjustly and power is used to turn people against each other chaotic forces can be released. In ancient Greek theater the Furies would appear as the forces of unceasing anger, vengeance and mayhem. They were said to dwell near the Gates of Hades that divide the daylight world from the underworld and all the unconscious forces of life. In ancient plays the Furies would be stirred into frenzy when blood had been shed on the earth unjustly. Then the Gates of Hades would open and they would enter the daily world, appearing in many guises and troubling many minds.

 

The tragedies enacted in ancient theater involved a process of emotional release and cleansing; but also served as a form of collective education. In this case, a psychological education about violence, vengeance and the danger of shedding blood unjustly. Part of the psychological lesson would be that if injustice prevails and anger turns into fury the likely result will be more bloodshed and more public chaos. And that can only lead to life-numbing cycles of vengeance and retaliation. 

 

In the modern world, the tragedies play out in the streets and then endlessly replay in videos that fail to bring the kind of catharsis that can help heal or bring the education about violence and injustice that we need. 

 

As in the ancient tragedies, the use of force can only make things worse and cause more bloodshed and chaos. At the same time, the misuse of the power of words by those in positions of authority can incite more fury on the streets and needlessly lead to greater tragedy and loss of life.

 

Another major force in the ancient understanding of injustice and violence was the condition known as hubris. Hubris named an inflation of the human psyche in which a person comes to believe that they are God-like. Hubris involves epic arrogance and outrageous insolence which manifests in breaking rules, violating laws and callously mistreating other people. Hubris was the ancient term for what people now call narcissism, a state of extreme egotism and exaggerated self-importance that inevitably leads to being out of touch with reality. 

 

Narcissists have the highest levels of cynical hostility and extremes of fury that become aimed at anyone perceived to be a threat to their false and insecure sense of self. When placed in positions of authority, narcissists will use power in corrupt and self-enhancing ways, but will also impulsively attack other people and destroy entire institutions. In these deeply troubled times, the Furies continually rise from below and wind up center stage. At the same time, Donald Trump, as the embodiment of hubris and the dangerous exaggeration of self-importance, winds up center stage as well. 

 

Arch narcissists believe they are so superior to others that the rules and even the laws do not apply to them and they have the right to behave in any manner they wish. To be clear, I am speaking psychologically, not simply in political terms. For if the current crisis remains simply political the tragedies can only deepen and become more damaging to the soul of the country.  

 

“One of the functions of tragic theater was to show how hubris in the psyche of powerful rulers and ruling families can produce huge amounts of trauma in society as a whole.”

 

Now, we watch the issues of character and power playing out in real time on Twitter and cable news. Of course, Trump is not simply the cause of all the current violence. However, he is a model of the kind of hubristic lack of self-knowledge and absence of human empathy that makes violence ever more possible. 

 

The fault line of narcissistic self-glorification inevitably leads to self-destruction, but along the way many people as well as institutions can be destroyed. The lesson learned from ancient plays was that hubris is a crime of power that inevitably leads to tragedy for all.  

 

In the ancient stories the crisis could reach the point where the Furies threatened to torment all the inhabitants of the earth and make the land itself toxic. At that point, Athena, the goddess of wisdom and guardian of civilized life had to enter the scene. Athena soothed the Furies and persuaded them to break the cycles of violence. The goddess of wisdom then gave the Furies a place in her temple and offered them a new role as protectors of justice, rather than purveyors of punishment.  

 

In a surprising reversal, the raw emotions of anger and rage turned from toxicity to nobility. When given a place of respect in the temple, the Furies became the Eumenides which can mean the “kindly ones,” or the “makers of grace.” In psychological terms there is an important suggestion that when genuine justice is served and respect for the sacredness of life is restored, a sense of balance and even grace can return.  

 

Athena’s method was persuasion, another powerful word that means “to urge gently” and “appeal to reason,” an approach in direct contrast to seeking to impose law and order by the use of force and fear. In our current crisis people must be persuaded that neither hubris nor force can produce genuine leadership. At the same time, we may have to persuade ourselves that justice can be found and that healing is still possible. 

 

And that takes us back to the story of the power of words that can be used either to harm or to heal. To heal literally means to “make whole” and the only way we can get through this collective crisis is to find moments of wholeness and unity in which everyone is included and each person gets a little healing. As people used to know better, hatred is a failure of imagination and so is violence. At the same time, healing and creation are the only outcomes of conflict that can satisfy the soul.           

 

Please go here for the original: https://www.mosaicvoices.org/when-words-matter