All my life, I have grappled with words in an effort to not just communicate something but to understand the very nature of myself, the universe, space, and time. To a great extent, words represent the essence of my work today at RPL, where I use narrative strategy to help individuals and organizations develop a deeper understanding of themselves AND how to communicate with various stakeholders.
The Meaning of Words
In an AI-saturated world, however, words no longer must come from our bodies. We can prompt ‘agents’ who arguably produce prose better than most people can generate on their own. In turn, we can take these words, edit them slightly, and pass them off as our own without engaging in any of the proverbial soul-searching that had always been previously required to produce them.
Words, however, are not just letters on a screen or page; rather, they are evidence of a very fundamental experience, one in which we search the spaces within ourselves to discover (and communicate) meaning. Words have always meant something—and yet meaning is now often mediated by AI, which is subtly altering our ability to think deeply.
Feeling the Words
Thinking deeply, however, is not merely a cognitive exercise, but one connected to feeling. ‘I think, therefore I am,’ is a seemingly simple notion, except it implies a separation between mind and body.
This separation is not real, but a construct through which it has become possible to somehow disentangle what we ‘think’ from what we ‘feel,’ and yet these are words that do not reflect the experience of what it means to be a human BEING. I emphasize BEING because this word is both process and result, each occurring at the same time in no time at all.
And so what do I mean here? Precisely. Each word, comma, sentence, paragraph, period represents a choice, and it feels right. It is in the search for these words that I find myself—and I can only find you, the reader, if I know where I am and am not. Perhaps I only know myself if I know where you are and where you are not, and this is what I mean.
The Experience of Words
Until recently, the idea that humans could engage in an experience in which words could be created by an artificial intelligence would not have made sense. We, humans, created the words that guide our experience of reality, and yet that is no longer the case.
Universities and colleges certainly recognize the implications of this technology, as I am now bombarded with messaging that makes it clear I need certifications and degrees in AI, prompting, and how to meaningfully coordinate the activities of ‘agents.’
As far as I am concerned, the advent of AI represents a crossroads in which we are being asked to experience reality differently. We no longer need to experience an experience to produce words.
No, we can now prompt technology, while scrolling on our phones in video calls with humans who are no longer BEING encouraged to engage in deep reflection or dream-like reveries that may or may not produce tangible outcomes. And yet, is meaning only found in the outcome?
The Outcome
If life ends in death, is the meaning of life only found in our death? If so, what is the point of life? Is not life a process, an experience?
When we choose outcomes over process, scale over experience, efficiency over cups of coffee with friends and strangers alike, I fear we may lose the ability to find the words that help us express ourselves in a universe nearly 14 billion light-years across, expanding, dying, blinking, darkening, absorbing, and the countless other words I cannot remember and simply never knew.
Will I find these words I have never heard in myself or in a dictionary full of words in my native language? What of the thousands of other languages that exist that I will never know, hear, and understand?
The words on this digital page represent an active search for something—and I chose them. Perhaps, I may even love those words, because expressing them has brought tears to my eyes, and that is an outcome worth experiencing…
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RPL
Your story is your strategy.
RPL helps individuals, organizations, and teams turn narrative into infrastructure—aligning purpose, leadership, fundraising, culture, and communication around one coherent story.
Whether you are a person navigating a life transition, a leader seeking clarity, or an organization preparing for what is next, we help you move from scattered to strategic.
About Spaciology
Spaciology is not abstract theory; rather, it is a practice you can feel.
- Inside: Pause, breathe, notice.
- Outside: Design rooms, rituals, and agendas that slow the spin and invite care.
- Between us: Make dialogue a place where different truths can live together long enough to teach something.
Ultimately, leadership is the art of making space for what’s important (for everyone) and letting that clarity shape the next step. When we change the spaces from which we lead, our strategies change with them.
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