language

so this post has been brewing in my mind for a long time now. i will admit that it is still not fully formed - but today is the day that it becomes public.

as an undergrad i took a great interest in linguistics. i had a wonderful professor who was passionate about the topic and i learned a great deal from her. i remember sitting in one particular class as she had us do an exercise. she read common words to us and we were to write down other words that we immediately associated with her spoken word. after that part of the exercise, the original words were written on the board and we all took turns writing our associated words on the chalkboard next to them. the associated words were unique and varied.

see, no one in the classroom came into that room from the same place - the same family, background, or even from having the same experiences that day. then the professor said some things that literally changed the game for me. she explained that our brains create paths or patterns of association for language. so much so that when i hear a certain word my mind naturally couples it with words i know to be connected to that word. now, i don't claim to know much about neuroscience, but i picture this as an etching of a fine groove in the mind. over time that groove starts to become significant. it's way hate becomes easy and complaining becomes prevelant.

here is the amazing part. it is possible to change the pattern. my professor did an experiment in her own life. she re-trained her thought patterns. now, don't get me wrong - it's difficult work. one must be consistent and patient.

now as i was mulling this over i remembered what Paul had to say in Romans - "do not conform any longer to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." (12:2) and later in Philippians he told us how to go about this transformation "whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things." (4:8)

today the checkout girl at walmart let me in on a secret that she deals with depression. and i can't fix that (i really wish i could). my job is to think on wonderful, lovely things. my job is to train my brain so that my words don't fit the description established by the thought patterns of everybody else. my job is to speak words of truth and hope. reality is i know how it feels to be depressed - it hurts and it's a lonely place. reality is i have a choice in the patterns i establish in my brain. that is hope.