“an instrument which we shape for our own purposes.” - George Orwell

"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less." "The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things." "The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master—that's all."

“For magic consists in this, the true naming of a thing.” ― Ursula K. LeGuin, A Wizard of Earthsea

Word-work is sublime, she thinks, because it is generative; it makes meaning that secures our difference, our human difference — the way in which we are like no other life. - Toni Morrison

My daughter tells me there are Zoom parties where people dance, and I’ve seen them! I mean, she showed me on the video. And it’s people who know each other and many who dont know each other but they get connected in this kind of shared rehearsal of the joy of life through dancing. - mom

There’s no question that your life is radically different now than it was before quarantine and that experience will shape the repertoire of narratives that your community has and it will shape how accessible some narratives are. Both those things will change how you feel about each other and how you act towards each other. - mom