On the link between Emotions and Language

JESS.

Or: Meditation vs. Writing

Lately I've been wondering about the link between writing and emotional clarity. What is the difference between searching for the right vocabulary to label/express emotions, and meditating on feelings to understand and release them? Whats the relationship between {having many synonyms for an emotion} and {one's capacity to resolve/learn/grow from those emotions}?

Evolutionary psychologists suggest that language acted as a springboard for human thought and evolution. It elevated us from our primal ancestors into who we are today. Because of language, we have a new relationship with memory. Without language to anchor the millions of experiences that pass through us each day, we literally cannot see them. Without language, we cannot hold onto them, or process them, or reflect on them. Language -- words -- gives us the ability to remember.

Some countries have 7 different words for sadness, 9 different shades of love, 1 perfect word for missing an ex, or 5 categorizations of hunger. For the countries that don't have these words, we either don't realize these subtleties exist, or we struggle to define them (and consequently struggle to overcome them). In the counseling realm, language plays a huge role in healing and identity-forming. Without language, we don't know what we don't know. 

Writers, I suspect, are always seeking to know and to name.

Maybe writers recognize when an experience is passing them by, and scramble to anchor those experiences with language. When faced with uncertainty, writers use language to solidify vagueness into certainty. And once given language, we can explore and evolve with certainty.

The act of writing is a deeply meditative one for me. It requires me to silence unnecessary thoughts, focus on a thought or emotion that wants to surface, and honor what comes. It allows me to realign with my story, my core values by recognizing when the words I choose feel correct. 

I remember hearing that meditation is a conversation between you and your spirit -- Spirit guides you on what feels true, and what does not. What I can say is that I know when a sentence feels true, and when it does not. If the words I apply don't feel correct, I must keep seeking. Maybe that's why during transitional times I turn to writing, so that I can exist in self-reflection throughout the experience. 

I've spent months trying to name something I couldn't resolve, and I kept returning to the paper/screen to name it. And man, when the precise words fell into place? It was incredible. It was liberating.