words create worlds

“words create worlds” - Abraham Joshua Heschel

straight-A studenting here: awareness, agency, and autobiographies.

in the performance coaching space the foundational pillars are awareness and agency. or self-awareness + self-responsibility. stepping into growth, engaging transitions, overcoming stuck points - on one hand is awareness of strengths, skills, limitations, what raw materials we are working with. on the other hand is the agency to identify and take steps forward. identifying where you stand now, where you want to go, and engaging one step at a time…forward.

however, the more i engage these pillars, i am finding a foundation even underneath these. a ground that the awareness and agency stand on top of, rooting and pulling nutrients from - the autobiography.

it should go without saying that we are living our life in real time - but what may be overlooked is that we are writing it as we go. there is a particular language and choice of words we unconsciously - and i’m making the argument here to consciously - speak over the experiences of our lives. there are factual events. then there is a meaning we attach - a story we write and tell.

and the story has power. it shapes our experience of our experiences. the articulated thoughts and beliefs that generate emotion and behavior. a challenging chapter of our lives can be equally written as a tragedy or a crucial growing experience. an obstacle overcomed in the hero’s journey or a major setback in the victim’s series of unfortunate events.

how i articulate the story affects the emotions i have around it. and i always have a choice. i have a choice in how i write my autobiography - no matter what experiences make up the story. it’s like documentaries. different portrayals of the same humans or same factual events can take on different flavors, and evoke different emotions.

it works both forwards and backwards. it is the fixed vs growth mindset equation playing out. if i can well up waves of anxiety, defeat, and worry by playing worst case scenerios in my head - what headspace can i generate with best-case scenerios? what happens when i dispell the unhelpful, limiting soundtracks that play on repeat, unconsciously, and replace them with truth?

so even as i lean into awareness - both self awareness and others awareness - i can discover things with a rooted autobiography of being a whole, authentic, loved human and find those learnings to expand that autobiographical message. or i can uncover things about myself that spiral into a negative feedback loop of the insecurity or shame through-line that i am writing into my story. i can chose the theme and heading of my chapter. and i can re-write how i tell previous chapters as well, with hindsight as my guide to how previous chapters serve the current one…or don’t, depending on the message of my story….it’s up to me, that’s the beauty of an autobiography.

and that’s the agency piece. i chose the words i use in my autobiography. i chose the ground i stand on. i can chose to receive love and worthiness, stand in wholeness. or i can chose to fall victim to fear and doubt. i can chose to strain and strive and grasp for a story i deem best or i can receive a better one already written for me by a far superior story-writer.

in creation, God created with His words. and then he created us in his image. little creators. with power to create with my words. then he came to earth as the word. and now, i can carry the word and his mind, his power, his spirt in me.

so words seem important, and i have a choice in the type of world i cultivate with my words. it’s the light vs darkness, it’s the land vs the chaos waters, the wild and waste wilderness vs the garden of eden. God’s words separate.

i’m a limited creature. and i have to daily chose to separate. to create with my words, not destroy. it’s a constant battle against the lapping waves of the chaos waters coming for the ground i’ve taken. the wilderness creatures coming with their crafty schemes into my garden.

jesus overcame the schemer in the wilderness with words. the devil chose deceptive words, jesus chose truth. so the quality and soundness of the words’ source matters.

the word became flesh and walked on the chaos waters. with his voice, invited us to join him.

and in the holy spirit, i have the mind of christ. the presence of the victor in me. so i have power over the chaos waters, the wilderness creatures, the sea dragon - in the power of my mind, with my words.

words create worlds. this is how to tame the chaos dragon.

“all he had to do was speak by his spirit-wind command, and God created the heavenlies. filled with galaxies and stars, the vast cosmos he wonderfully made. his voice scooped out the seas. the ocean depths he poured into vast reservoirs. with breathtaking wonder, let everyone worship yahweh, this awe-inspiring creator. he breathed words and worlds were birthed. “Let there be,” and there it was—springing forth the moment he spoke, no sooner said than done!” ps. 33:6-9 TPT