Communicate with Kindness to Improve The World

Kindness in language has been on my mind recently. Certain phrases and idiomatic expressions in languages are violent and horrifying. We communicate and use them and likely don’t give them a second thought. They are just things we say, but I have found them increasingly worrisome, especially in this time of connectivity. How we use language in our communication affects more than just the people around us. Depending on our reach, it can affect everyone and everything. So, I decided to do something about these violent expressions.

Think about the expression, “There’s more than one way to skin a cat.” That’s horrifying, right? We’re talking about skinning a cat here! I don’t want to use the expression, but I still want to be able to get the expression’s meaning across when necessary. It turns out there’s a way to say it that is kind, compassionate, and gets the exact same point across. I created, “There’s more than one way to bake a pie.” See? It’s an identical meaning but without the violent cruel-to-animals imagery. Whew!

As I encounter additional cruel and violent phrases, I will post them on this blog. If you have any phrases or idiomatic expressions that you would like to see transformed into something more kind and more compassionate and specifically more animal-friendly, comment and let me know.

Tracking Cruelty and Transforming It

I’ve started a list of all of these sort of violent, especially non-animal friendly statements and phrases and idiomatic expressions. Further, I’ve turned them on their heads so “there’s more than one way to skin a cat” has become, “there’s more than one way to bake a pie.” The meaning is still the same and yet the connotation becomes something a lot less violent and a lot more friendly.

Here’s another one. The phrase, “I don’t have a dog in this fight,” (because dog fighting is an atrocity), and I’ve transformed it into, “I don’t have a chili in this cook-off.” So, I, get to say the exact same thing and that’s a really important part of this endeavor. The flavor, the connotation, the feeling behind the phrase needs to be essentially the same. It’s just not violent or cruel. So we have, “I don’t have a chili in this cook-off,” or “I don’t have a pie in this contest.”

Here’s here’s another one that I modified. “Kill two birds with one stone,” has become, “Pet two cats with one hand. Additionally, another one is, A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.” That one has transformed into, “A grape in the hand is worth two on the vine.” Again, it’s something that is less violent and more friendly but with the same essential meaning.

Moving on, there are a couple that I’m actually looking actively for substitutes for. So, if you have an idea about these next ones that you’d care to share with me I’d love to put them on my list. And that way we can all use more kind, more compassionate wording.

Let’s Find Substitutions

I need substitutes for the following: “Canary in the coal mine,” “A snake in the grass,” and “The straw that broke the camel’s back.” Those are the three right now that I’m pondering. The problem with thinking of these is that they need to still convey the same meaning while remaining compassionate.

It fascinates me that we use the expressions often without thinking about what they mean or what we’re actually saying. But if you find expressions you’d like to change, comment and I’ll try to think of some for you. Or, if you think of one, please comment as well and let me know.

The language, the words we use are powerful. And if we become cognizant of the way we use our words, together we can make the world more filled with kindness and compassion.