WORDS are powerful things.
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They sketch the outline of all the world's wonder and wickedness, depth and depravity, yet they often fall short of containing everything.
The letter of the law governs what is right and wrong.
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Our thoughts can only be embodied and brought into the world with a word.
Sometimes identities are defined by single words which are sources of strength or scorn depending who on is doing the defining.
I had a word with a few people this weekend, including one who had done away with the phrase "retired" and preferred to say they'd graduated from their previous phase of life.
Retirement suggested a sense of dormancy which truly didn't reflect their ongoing work for others.
This included helping migrants translate their CVs into English and navigate the tiresome, coded and elusive language HR departments might expect.
The right words open doors.
Another conversation illuminated how words close us off from the world as well.
A migrant family recalled their early days in Tamworth having notes put in their mail box advising them to 'go back to your country' and 'catch the boat back'.
This was recounted on the beginning of Refugee Week with this year's theme 'a world of stories'.
The week is an opportunity for the public to recognise "the immense courage, resilience and valuable contributions made by refugees" to our communities.
Courage and resilience seem like some of those maxims we like to throw around in this country to call a sense of identity to mind.
Chuck in some mateship and a fair-go, mince all those words together and you might just have the recipe for our national cuisine: the delectable democracy sausage.
Yet some in this country reserve other phrases for migrants and refugees, like "go back" and "I stopped these".
Perhaps it's high-time we look at the words we use and let more stories shape us.