When I was young, my mother would threaten a potty mouth with promises of washing it out with soap. I still don’t know what soap tastes like, so this method seems to have been rather effective. Regardless of my own circumstances, I believe there may be good reason to watch what we, as adults, say even if there is no authoritative force brandishing hygiene products at us. One should be considerate of their words, because once voiced, words can outlast their speaker, after a fashion. As it turns out, what we say sticks around longer than we do.

When vocalizing, air molecules vibrate and sound waves form. What may not be initially obvious is that these waves don’t simply disappear when we no longer hear them. Distance and sonic interference may render sound waves inaudible, but this does not mean they cease to exist. The sound of speech may dissipate over time, losing energy by being dampened and converted into heat, but, at least theoretically, only get close to a zero-energy state, in which the sound is completely absorbed and dissipated throughout the planet. So while one’s words may quickly become inaudible, even undetectable, they will effectively exist indefi nitely on a microscale, reverberating throughout our world.

With that, one can see why it may be preferable to be sure that a statement is desirable before vocalizing it. It pains me to think that some of the more ignorant, offensive remarks that have come out of my mouth are still around. Nobody will ever hear them, or be affected by them, but that doesn’t change the fact that there is still evidence of my more unsavory use of language fl oating around. If this doesn’t bother you, well, that’s probably not surprising, but it puts me in a fi t of distress because it is not only my spoken thoughts that leave traces throughout the world. Each of us are living in a soup simmering with the words of all those who have come before us. The sounds of lectures, laughter, baby cries, bird calls, gun shots and sex surround and permeate us at all times.

The very air we breathe is fi lled with the energy of the people and animals in the world. All this energy, this concoction of desire, intent, of secrets uttered, is transmitted through the air that envelops us at every moment. I fi nd it spiritually signifi cant, if not intellectually substantial, to think that each of us is perpetually connected with the history and life of Earth in this way. Even plants share in the reciprocation of breath, if not speech. Trees and fl owers inhale what we exhale and vice versa. From the moment of birth, we participate in this ultra-intimate action with every living organism that has ever been. Breathing in, taking the spirit of the world, and exhaling - speaking any word – is profoundly meaningful.

Air doesn’t merely coat our skin, it resides in us and sustains us. It is the medium for our most personal form of communication and it retains what we project into it. If you fi nd this observation meaningful, consider defaulting on the next white lie or offensive joke that enters your mind. There’s no reason to drip more oil into this communal ocean of ours, is there? I’ll let you chew it over. Until next week, just keep breathing . It’s enough.