Years ago, I heard a friend saying that “hey, do you know that there is a gigantic vessel in space. The words we say are stored in that vessel!” Since that day, this statement has tingled me like a big mess.
Have you ever wondered what happens to the words we say? Do they just vanish in the air? Or are they getting stored somewhere?
Nice question, isn’t it?
Before moving on, one thing I want to bring to light is that you must keep yourself in a company who either speaks good (like the gigantic vessel theory guy) or remains silent, because speaking ill about anything will poison your thoughts, eventually making you go astray of the right path!
According to my perspective, there are two answers to that question. One shares the shadow of science, while the other comes under the umbrella of spirituality.
The Scientific Answer
Let’s simply put it through. Sound is a kind of energy, and energy can neither be created nor destroyed. Bravo! You remember that. It’s the first law of thermodynamics from our theory classes of Physics. Now, you must be thinking, if the energy can’t be created, where does that sound come from when we speak?
Well, the energy is inside us (call it chemical energy). We send the air from our lungs to the vocal cord, creating vibrations (the energy or the sound). As the energy is transformed, our nasal cavity, tongue, lips, and mouth help us shape the sound, and this sound becomes a voice, known as the words we utter.
Where does that sound go?
Two things happen when we ask, “where did the sound go?”.
Sound needs a medium to travel. When we speak, it’s the air that generally acts as a medium for sound to propagate. Sound travels in all directions, and it loses its intensity if we are far from the source (speaker). The size (area) of the ear (receiver) doesn’t change, but the distance of the sound does. This concept is called acoustic intensity. It’s the first way where the sound gets lost.
The second one is attenuation. This means the energy loses its intensity and gets transformed while traveling in the medium. The mechanical energy (sound vibrations) gets converted into heat, as our words create disturbance in the medium’s molecules and vibrate them, transferring the energy from one form to another.
That’s the first answer.
Now, let’s move to the second answer.
The Spiritual Answer
There is nothing in this universe that’s created without a purpose. And being humans, we can’t understand the wisdom behind every Divine decree. We are provided with limited knowledge because that’s the best for us. And with that, the concept of “where do our voices go?” from the religious perspective is a bit hard to digest but true.
The words that we speak are getting recorded, and when The Day of Account arrives, everyone will be accountable for what they said. Period.
The point to ponder here is the value of words. According to the collaborative work of Dr. Andrew Newberg (Neuroscientist at Thomas Jefferson University) and Mark Robert (Communications expert),“a single word has the power to influence the expression of genes that regulate physical and emotional stress.”
The words we say have the capability to heal the never recovering wounds and to pierce through the heart like a dagger. Since it’s about the non-tangible and invisible reality of life, people often forget what they are speaking.
Sometimes unconsciously, and sometimes with sole intention. And I believe that both kinds of words are getting stored, but we’ll be called to account only for the intentionally said words at The Day of Resurrection.
The formula in the spiritual answer is quite vast, and it is important to understand that if you have good words to say that can benefit the person in any way, say them. If you think your words can heal someone’s heart, or solve a problem, don’t avoid speaking then. If you remain silent when your words were needed, you will be held accountable.
Therefore it is necessary to realise the value of the words. You have to find the wisdom of the words so that you can save yourself, your energy, and others.
Final Words
Whenever you speak in a gathering, speak purposefully. If you don’t have anything to say, please don’t break the silence because being silent is the characteristic of the wise. You never know who is sitting around you, and if you really have an important thing to share, choose the words that are concise and easy. And when you speak, be rhetorical and graceful. This will enhance the value of your words, and eventually, you will have the big reward just because you practiced the true meaning of wisdom of the words.