Word Watching

The other day in the dining room, a sister overheard a bit of conversation from another table and commented, “’I think ‘gosh’ is Janelle’s favorite word.” This got me thinking about what our favorite words say about us.

We all know that toddlers enjoy exerting their fledgling independence by using the word “No!” at every opportunity. As we get older, we often encounter enthusiastic types who repeatedly pronounce things “cool” (or in more modern slang, “sick”), along with skeptics (“hmmm”-ers) and contrarians (“yeah, but”-ers).

The word Jesus is best known for uttering is “love,” which succinctly sums up his reason for being. That’s something we can all strive for, but I’d be satisfied if “wow” was known to be my favorite word. If we really pay attention to the world around us, we could easily say “wow” approximately 10,000 times a day, as in “Wow, these homegrown tomatoes taste good,” “Wow, I didn’t know that some grasshoppers are orange,” or “Wow, that song really spoke to my heart.” Not all of us will be known for wowing the world, but we all can be known for being wowed by the world, which is intricate, marvelous, diverse, and utterly sacred.

As we consider our favorite words, it is worthwhile to note that St. Benedict holds silence in high esteem. He says in his Rule, “…so important is silence that permission to speak should seldom be granted even to mature disciples, no matter how good or holy or constructive their talk.” St. Benedict knew that talking prevents us from listening, which is critical if we are to hear God’s voice and gain wisdom. All the more reason to give thought to our words and use them judiciously. Wow, what a thought!