AUREET'S ESSAYS AND STORIES
On Talking and Touching, 1974
What would happen if no one could talk? We would have to communicate by touch. We could no longer build walls of words around us. We couldn't pass each other with a casual "Hi, how are you" as if anyone really stopped to listen to an answer or if anyone thought to give a real answer. Instead, we would have to say hello with a kiss, a touch of hands, or a hug; each one so full of meaning. We could not lie to each other and be two-faced, for could you hug someone who repulses you? And eyes do not lie, look into eyes, for truth. Words can disguise and hide true meanings. If there were no words, people would become more aware of the real meanings expressed in gestures and facial expressions. We would become more aware of the world around us, as the world of the senses. Things would not be hidden in a world of words.
When you think of a tree you think of words describing it; green, brown, roots, trunk, leaves, branches. Perhaps you get more descriptive with rough bark, intricate network of leaves, or perhaps you think of a poem. But when you picture a tree do you ever feel it? smell it? hear it? and even see it, without using words? Can you hear the wind in the leaves without saying "The wind rustled through the leaves?"
Words are beautiful jewels to have, if we remember what they really mean. They are only a symbol for something and not something in themselves. They should not be wasted, but used as often as we need them to share our feelings and thoughts. But perhaps we can replace some of our useless words with communicating by touch.
