As a student and practitioner of witchcraft, I have learned (and experienced) time and time again that words have power. And yet, even still, I sometimes forget just how powerful they really are, and I slip into harmful or judgemental talk or otherwise misuse the power of speech.
While out hiking this past weekend, my husband and I came upon a stream that was alive with toads, and I mean alive. The air was thrumming with their calls, and the water looked like a chaotic toad rave. We could even see the crisscrossed “necklaces” of eggs woven through the shallows. It was amazing.
One of the toads was partially submerged, singing his little heart out, and I was mesmerized by the vibratory patterns created in the water by his vocalizing. They’re hard to make out with the poor-quality video, but with each call, the toad was surrounding by ever-expanding circular waves.
While I know that my own speech also creates sound waves, because I can’t see them as readily it’s easy to overlook this truth, but Mr. Toad made it perfectly clear that the sounds we emit affect our environment in a very real way. And to extend the example even further, his sounds (along with the rest of the horny toad choir) initiated a chain reaction that keeps his species alive–no small feat.
How are your words shaping your life, and the lives of those around you?
