Language | The Direction of Intention

Truly Powerful People (430)

Posted on May 13, 2012 by davidrobinsoncreative

430.
Join me in inspiring truly powerful people. Each day I will add a new thought, story or idea to support your quest and mine.

Sitting in my assigned seat (7B) I was taken by this phrase: Use bottom cushion for flotation device. I’ve flown several hundred times in the past decade and I’ve seen this phrase on every flight and took little notice. For some reason today it struck me as odd. The airline stenciled it in 3 places on the seat back directly in front of me; that makes 9 stencils for every row! There are only 3 exit signs on the plane. The emergency exit rows have some escape hatch instructions that are also written in the language of toy assembly: pull red handle to position “A,” lift hatch bottom until it detaches from slot “C.” Thrust hatch out and let go. These instructions are given only once. Why the flotation device repetition? Getting out of a sinking plane seems a higher priority than knowing that floating is an option. It’s all very corporate. Legal.

I suppose that’s the point. The phrase is there to satisfy a legal requirement and is reiterated 3 times so the airline will not be liable for my death by drowning. The irony of that possibility made me cackle and my seatmates grew nervous. I pointed to the phrase and lied, “I find this a statement of hope!” and my seatmates looked away. In the age of the underwear bomber, humor is suspect. They worked hard pretending I wasn’t there so I made them stretch beyond their limits pointing to the 3 identical stencils saying, “Three times must be a charm.”

That must be the explanation! If my plane went down in the water (unlikely on my flight from Lincoln to Denver) and I survived the impact (unlikely on a flight from Lincoln to Denver) I doubt that I would be thinking clearly. I have a list of the things I’d probably think – none of which I feel good about writing. I cackled again and my seatmates eyed the flight attendant button so I said, “It actually might take 3 repetitions for me to grab my bottom cushion en route to flotation and eventual water rescue.” Their panic was palpable so I said, “I guess you should be glad I’m not sitting by the door. We’d all drown.”

The image of me popping through an airplane hatch riding like a cowboy atop a seat cushion and bobbing to the surface of a mountain lake was too much. I laughed outright and couldn’t stop myself from saying, “I wonder where they keep the oars?”

Filed under: Language, Random, Truly Powerful People | 5 Comments »

Truly Powerful People (398)

Posted on April 11, 2012 by davidrobinsoncreative

398.
Join me in inspiring truly powerful people. Each day I will add a new thought, story or idea to support your quest and mine.

Sometimes a day is loaded with amazing phrases. Today was one of those days. It was one long found poem of delicious word candy. At first I thought someone was playing a trick on me! Feeding me yummy word bites so I would slip into a sweet language coma. Some of these phrases came from a class conversation, some from a walk down the street, a few from the porch of the library and some from standing in line at the grocery store. It was raining word dances and with no umbrella there was nothing to be done but tilt back my head, close my eyes and open to the bounty. Taste these words (eat slowly):

“I fell into your language and found myself.”
“Don’t be seduced by the complex, the fancy. Transformation happens in simplicity.”
“Forgiveness is ongoing. So is change, transformation, conversion and resurrection.”
“I’ve learned that most of the aggression that comes at me is a projection of the other people’s pain. The same must be true of my aggression.”
“I became real so he became real.”
“Contact the world!”
“Burst! And roll away the stone.”
“Who are you being when you’re just being?”
“The gift of the dream is to let go of trying to be anything else.”
“You know what would be cool? Neither do I!”
“What is movement when you are perfectly still?”
“Who is like me? There must be somebody!”
“Do you know the word I love saying today: “fascinating.” Say it slowly.”

Martín Prechtel writes of speaking beautifully to feed the world. Don Miguel Ruiz writes of being impeccable to your word as an act of self-love. Say what you mean, mean what you say and say it lusciously. If language is the building block of the story you tell yourself about yourself, then the language you choose creates your world. Change your language, change your story, change your world. Today, the people around me fed the world (and me) a feast. I fell into their language, was seduced and found myself saying slowly over and over again, “fascinating.”

Filed under: Language, Truly Powerful People | 4 Comments »