Finding the right words for a piece of writing can take days, months, even years.
But when we finally do, it’s empowering. Our words may even seem mystical, magical.
And that magical sense isn’t just a vibe.
Language is both deep and expansive—so complex that layers of meaning even underlie the meanings our writing creates.
At the core of those underlying meanings are metaphorical origins—often invisible—that make our writing matter even more.
Even the word “matter” is a metaphor when you crack it open. Don’t let the abstraction fool you.
The verb “to matter” is related to physical “matter” itself—the “material” substance from which everything is made.
Before the word “matter” represented what everything is made of, it meant (via Latin) the “hard inner wood of a tree.” And before “matter” was “mater,” which means “mother.” Yes, “mother” was (and is) what everything is made of—and made from.
From mother, to inner wood, to everything. Ah, the joys of metaphorical meanings: The heartwood of the matter is the mother of matter itself.