a book quote that helped me realize something II

"It's in these moments, next to you, that I envy words for doing what we can never do - how they can tell all of themselves simply by standing still, simply by being. Imagine I could lie down beside you and my whole body, every cell, radiates a clear, singular meaning, not so much a writer as a word pressed down beside you." p.171

When I got to this passage it hit me hard. Because for me words mean so much more than just single letters stamped on a book page. There's endless possibilities we have with words which we never have with just ourselves. We can paint pictures with words. We can create entire new worlds with words. We can write down our dreams with words. We can imagine with words. We can write about things we would never dare to say out loud. We can let them speak for us. We can let them touch other people's hearts. We can change lives with words. 

Words simply exist. They are not complicated the way we are sometimes. They can't hide and they can't lie.

Writing in general and the use of language took on another meaning for me after I read "On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous" by Ocean Vuong. I've never read a book like this. And that says a lot since I have read a ton of books. To me it seemed like he threw out all the rules there are for writing and he just played with them. There were moments when I almost cried whilst reading because his use of words and language was so powerful and overwhelming. 

This book shook me to my core.