A picture is worth a thousand words.
One thousand.
Or so we were made to believe.
Isn’t it funny though? How the rate of exchange on pictures and words, has remained the same for quite some time now?
Funny.
And so, the rate is set.
A picture is worth a thousand words.
What a multiplicity of decalog proportions!
How powerful those pictures are. Look how much influence they’ve yielded over us. How much we obsess over them. How much importance we place on our own ability to see.
After all, seeing is believing.
And we love what we see.
All of this excitement certainly explains our selfie craze, that we’ve managed to linger in, for quite some time now. It’s not a bit surprising, considering that everyone has a professional camera in their pocket.
But let’s get back to the math.
A picture is worth a thousand words.
I beg to differ.
I think we give far too much credit to our eyes. Care too much about how we’re seen and what we perceive. Work way too hard to make sure our grass is as beautifully manicured as our neighbours.
Its madness.
Words have never stopped yielding their tremendous power.
No matter what value, or exchange rate you wish to yield.
I’m not going to swing the pendulum in the opposite direction and lay false claims that words are somehow worth more than pictures. My only desire is to bring back some of the desperately needed dignity to our language, and to point out the hypocritical imbalance of our obsession with seeing.
Words are worth a lot.
You cannot give them a permanent mathematical value. Assign them an arbitrary weight.
At different times, as we grow, and in different circumstances, different words, mean different things. Some cost us everything. Others lead us to much happiness.
Oh, how I would do anything right now, to hear my mother and father’s voice utter something. Anything. Pronounce any word. Make any sound.
How much I long to hear, that they still love me, and that they are most proud of me. Yet, when they were still alive, and when I could spend any time with them, they reminded me of their everlasting love, a thousand times over.
I wouldn’t trade a single word for a thousand pictures.
How truly powerful are the words; I’m sorry.
Just three lowly words.
As strong and equally as powerful in their essence as; I love you.
That’s if you mean them, of course.
Three little words.
Seven and eight letters strong.
Not a thousand.
Those three words are more powerful and more meaningful, than any photograph, you could ever have the misfortune of enticing me with.
So why do we shy away from words?
Why do we have a propensity to reject them? A stubbornness of avoiding them.
For most of us, pictures remain the dominant force in our lives. Most people are stuck with a vocabulary, they acquired, shortly after graduating primary school.
As a human family, we seem to have no desire in expressing ourselves with words.
We like to point and grunt. Gossip and curse. Snap and pose.
But I encourage you to ignore the photograph and embrace a thousand words.
Start with three.
Build from there.
Share and express your thoughts openly.
Share what you think.
Forget what you see.
Even if it’s for an afternoon, or just a fleeting moment.
