I was speaking with a good friend of mine recently, a man who has thought a lot about faith and action. He spoke about how, in this culture, we place a lot of emphasis on “the word.” We celebrate speakers and are inspired by words and talk, but, in his view, the real transformation happens when we combine word with deed and community.
I mulled this over. I am someone who thinks about words a lot. And I started to see a relationship between intention and this idea of combining word and deed.
When we speak from a place of intention, it is meaningful because it is linked to action. As listeners, we are moved because we feel like moving—we want to change something in our lives to match the action and motivation we feel from the person we heard speaking. We don’t respond just with our minds, we respond with our bodies.
Intention leads to action. Intention is action. Intention is the river that carries the message, the ideas, the communication. The river is how it travels.
We respond physically to give space for the energy that wells up in us when we are moved. We might dance or clap or stand and shout, we might find the nervous energy in our feet and legs makes up tap or jiggle. When we are deeply moved, we respond with more than our minds.
We respond with action.
