over the years, i’ve found it helpful to be conscious of, intentional with my language
what u think, what u say matters. ur words have causal impacts. words are wizardry—u can cast spells, because u can say words
i began my journey into intentional language use as a spiritual practice by using the word “friend” liberally as a spiritual practice, following the Religious Society of Friends / Quakers. i picked up this habit from the Monastic Academy community. it helps me to perceive and act in friendly ways, and to notice deviations from that intention!
on The Day I Was Born, i received this message: “it’s ok to follow Cornel West’s lead and call everyone brother and sister, no one will be mad”
i’d admired Cornel West’s use of those terms, but i feared adopting it. unlike with “friend,” i didn’t have any friends who used the term, too, to make me feel safe and less weird for doing so. but the medicine gave me permission, courage to take that step. to this date, no one has yet been explicitly, vocally angry at me for using these terms! some people prefer “friend” or “sibling” if they don’t identify with a male or female gender! that’s an easy fix!
my friends on Twitter started using “king” and “queen” which I found lovely and endearing, wholesome! i adopted this language too! it feels great to me! “if this is cringe then i don’t want to be based”!
i also love using the word “hero,” which i’ve doubled down on because of my work (with the Love and Empowerment departments)!
i have invented lots of my own words, or use pre-existing words with specific meanings!
most recently, i started using the word “U”! this comes to me from my friend Zencephalon, who uses U (one letter, capital). I is capitalized and one letter, why not U?
i really resonate with the intention behind it: to remember that U are just as important as I am, to respect and love the Other as much as the Self.
i used “u” for a few months with him in our DM’s before adopting it myself! i found it helpful to have a playground to try it out and see how it feels! and it feels good! it feels better in my body!
since i often write in lowercase “u” feels more authentic but if i’m writing emails or other writing with conventional capitalization and punctuation i’ve been using “U”
one nice thing about adopting “u” is it deflates a bit of the perceived authority or certainty of wisdom posts, like my tweets or pieces like this. u can’t take it too seriously, it’s clear u can discard it if it doesn’t apply to u
so far, i love saying “u!” and u might, too!
i love u! ❤️
- I is one letter
- you is three
- I is uppercase
- you is lowercase
- uppercase connotes importance
- fewer letters is simpler, easier. implies primacy
- our existing language conventions imply I am more important than you are
- U are as important as I am
If U enjoyed this post, consider subscribing to my newsletter, my YouTube channel, or following me on Twitter to get updates on my new blog posts and current projects. U can also support my work with The Service Guild on Patreon.