The magic of words
by Donna Washington
I wanted to be the person spinning the threads and weaving them into a tapestry of unimaginable dream. I wanted to be the fascinating conduit through which images flow like water. I wanted to be completely alive and exceedingly glorious. I wanted to be so absent from my story that you could see the whole thing unfolding before your eyes, and so necessary that you would want me to tell it again and again.
That's a tall order. That's a big dream. In the last 14 years, I've realized that it isn't about the teller being magical, it is about the teller creating magic. It's about words and the way you use them. The harder I looked for magic, the more I found only words. I became an author of children's books. I made recordings. I toured all over this country, in Asia and in Europe. For all of my fancy skills and years of training, it is still about the words. It's the words that are important.
If there is any magic in anything I do, it is in words. They can build things, heal wounds and bring you to a place of great joy. They can also tear things apart, cut gaping holes in your heart and bring everything to a crashing ruin. My business is words. I trade in both the spoken and written word. It is my hope that the words I choose will be the healing words, the words of hope and promise.
I have stopped trying to be a magic person. I have started striving to be a person who makes magic.
- To create paragraphs in your comment, type <p> at the start of a paragraph and </p> at the end of each paragraph.
- To create bold text, type <b>bolded text</b> (please note the closing tag, </b>).
- To create italicized text, type <i>italicized text</i> (please note the closing tag, </i>).
- Proper web addresses will automatically become links.
Latest in Front Porch
-
Clear for departure
My father is 83 now, and his health is declining. In mid-April, my brother called: "You need to get up here now."
- May 22, 2013
-
Being the community
In Raleigh's Moore Square and around Main Street in Durham, we ignore people who we assume don't have housing. Rocky and those like him go to Love Wins or the Maurin House to find eye contact, to hear a "good morning," to be a part of their cities.
- May 15, 2013
-
High places
Quietly, by the guidance of our flashlights, we climbed a very long, tight spiral staircase up to the top of the Duke Chapel tower. And not just the bell-tower top, but beyond that.
- May 8, 2013
- More »
