Take Off The Shoes of Your Voice, with Ocean Vuong

Hope Portal, Session 4

Illustration: Jesse Zhang

If hope is to be defining and forceful in the world we have to remake ahead of us, we must also speak hope into being. Ocean Vuong is a fascinating and singular person. The sweep of his work is about bearing witness to the other side of violence and the possibility of joy while taking nothing away and continuing to bear witness to the fullness of what has been carried and what has been survived. And he is wise about the violence of language that is habitually, culturally instinctive — and how changing that is key to shaping our very presence to others and to this world.

Journaling prompts for Session 4

As you move through these days, get really attentive in every moment to this world’s fluency in the language of violence — the vividness and omnipresence of words that engender fear and despair. Notice, and write down the easy metaphors of death and war that are used everywhere from the news to casual conversations to social media, about everything from relationships to politics to the weather. Notice the death and violence metaphors that come naturally in the way you speak.

What happens when you alter your language? What does it mean to take off the shoes of your voice?

We've created a beautiful journal for the whole seven weeks, with full-size printable pages, that you can download for free HERE.

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Find an excellent transcript of this show, edited by humans, on our show page.

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Just beginning? Read our introduction for a possible way to organize your experience.

The Hope Portal and this series are adventures in opening the deep enduring teaching that lives inside the 20 years of On Being. We would be so grateful if you would let us know how it goes for you and how it might be refined, by writing to us at mail@onbeing.org.