“It’s the hard things that break; soft things don’t break…You can waste so many years of your life trying to become something hard in order not to break; but it’s the soft things that can’t break! The hard things are the ones that shatter into a million pieces!” ~C Joybell C
Language is a powerful thing. Though often dismissed as “semantics,” the imagery our words and terminology impart often adds unintended or even misguided connotations onto what we intend to say.
This is why it is so difficult to speak about spirituality. When we say “God” or “salvation” or even “peace,” those words can bear an unintended doctrinal, political, or social stamp on them that means something very different to the listener than it does to the speaker.
A prime example of this is the “hardness” imagery that is woven into many words intended to be positive, such as “strong” or “tough”. We want to be “strong” and “tough”, to be able to handle all of life’s trials and tribulations without cracking.
However, these words often morph into an image of hardness. When we are strong, we hunker down, grit out teeth, and bear it. When we are tough, we “power through” the bad times.
The short-term result is often satisfying. The hard person bounces back quickly from a failed marriage or an illness or losing a long-term job. The trouble, however, is often found beneath the surface and in the long-term. What happens when someone spends a lifetime hunkering down and powering though?
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