Words: Between the Lines of Age
Embracing my identity as a sayer of words... Because words matter. Words are portals, allowing us access into new imagination and possibilities.
I have excess words.
I am extra with the words.
It’s a whole situation.
I have more than I could ever possibly use as a regular human. My people will testify… they bear the weight disproportionately.
(Bless.)
I have more words than I do friends that can hold them.
I want to believe it’s a charm. I think it is. Mostly cute… perhaps it’s a lot to deal with.
I think I’m a lot to deal with…
(Can it be charming and a lot?...)
Whatever the answer may be, I’ve come to an understanding.
I have all the words because I’m supposed to put them to work. It’s a full acceptance on my part - in the best of ways. A loving embrace of what has always been true and in me.
I am a sayer of words.
And not only have I come to delight in this about myself, I have been able to reclaim and re-root my identity in this beautiful part of me.
It’s a gift. For me. For others. And I intend now to put these words to use creating good trouble in the world.
What’s wild is that I’ve actually always done that - I just couldn’t see it clear enough before. Too much trauma cluttering my vision. But I see it now, I’ve connected the dots and come to the realization that in virtually every role I’ve found myself in since my youth, I’ve been
A sayer of words.
This is a gift of mine. It’s always been in me. It’s important for the world. And it’s a beautiful piece of myself I have to offer to help make the world a more loving and safe place.
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So I’m all in now.
I’ve begun moving through the world embracing my identity as a sayer of words.
I’m trying it on. Trying it out.
And it feels amazing!
Exhilarating.
Life giving.
Like I’ve stepped into a part of myself that I’ve always longed to embrace and take seriously in a big way, but have never had the courage (or felt the permission) to fully dive into.
I’m trying it on for myself. As an integral piece of my own creative endeavors in the world.
And since I have extra (seriously, I cannot overstate the abundance), I’m even trying it out as a service I can offer to others as well.*
I am a sayer of words.
This is me.
And Finding Jonathan will be the space in which I will keep saying the words for my sake.
…For your sake too, to be sure. It is my offering for any of you (beloved) who wish to sit with me and discuss all the things. Because we’ll be discussing them here.
But this space is my catharsis.
My space to pour it all out. To say all the things that are stirring in me. Because if I don’t, no one else is going to say them. I’m the only one that has access to my words.
I’m quite confident we’ll have a mixed bag here. Which is all of life, right? We’ll have some useful things that create moments for us to draw together in meaningful sharing.
And we’ll have moments that we’re just shooting the shit.
Take it or leave it moments.
I don’t have an agenda. I just have me. And I have we. And I look forward to you and me sharing in the grit and shit and beauty of life together.
God it’s a wild ride...
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This one is called “words” because of all I’ve already said about the words.
But it’s also an act of love for myself and a coming back around to a delayed dream from a former chapter.
On his seminal 1972 album, “Harvest,” Neil Young penned the gorgeously reflective song, “Words (Between the Lines of Age).”
“Singing words,
Words,
Between the lines of age…”
Years ago, a dear friend was helping me design a blog named in tribute to the song.
I never got that project off the ground (mostly because I didn’t believe in myself yet.)
But the concept, much like the song itself (which gets at the complexities of human communication and finding the deepest meaning of life in the subtle, small moments and details), was ruminating on singular “words” that had captured my imagination.
The idea was that words are portals.
They open us up to a fascinating realm of meaning and possibilities.
They allow us to see beyond, and give us the hope that we might go beyond.
As I walk through the world, it seems to me one of our greatest sufferings is a lack of imagination. And make no mistake, it’s that way by design.
It’s not that we inherently lack imagination, it’s that it is systematically snuffed out. The most dangerous force against the power brokers of the world is imagination.
Ideas are a threat to the system.
The people can’t know there’s a better way.
I want to be a sayer of the words because I believe to my core that there IS a better way.
A way of love.
And words matter.
Words can renew our minds.
Our hopes. Our dreams. Our ambitions.
And so I’ve decided to put my words to use in the uprising of love. Because the way of love is breaking through all the time.
It’s disruptive. Pesky. Subtle. But it is a force.
Justice is rolling down like mighty waters, baby.
Sometimes we just need words to help us see, to help remind us, or to help give us our power back.
So as much as these “words” are a celebration for me, embracing who I am becoming and a reclamation of who I’ve always been, they are also my manifesto.
I am a sayer of the words.
Because that’s who I am.
And that’s what I have to offer.
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My hope is that we will build community together here at Finding Jonathan around all the words.
I’m curious like a cat!… tho they don’t call me whiskers. (Even with the beard…)
I want to hear YOUR words.
What’s the word for you right now? What is stirring your spirit? Inspiring you? Challenging you? Renewing you?
Hit me up in the comments so we can share in all the words together!
And share this with that friend who’s on your mind right now who also needs the words. I’m excited to meet them too.
Much love to you.
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