THE COUNTER-SPELL VOCABULARY.

Where Language of Care Still Exists & Why it Matters

Indigenous languages and concepts - Many have no equivalent for "ownership," "resource," or "management" when discussing land and relationships. The Lakota concept of Mitákuye Oyásʼiŋ (all my relations) frames everything as kinship, not hierarchy or utility.

Care-based professions (when authentic) - Midwifery, death doulas, some therapeutic practices still use language of "holding space," "witnessing," "being with" rather than "delivering services" or "managing cases."

Children's natural language - Before they learn our frameworks, kids say things like "Can I have a turn?" not "Can I access that resource?" They "make friends," they don't "build networks."

Some artistic/creative communities - Talk of "emergence," "flow," "play," "discovery" - though even these are increasingly colonized by "creative industries" and "content creation."

Where Humanizing Language Still (Barely) Exists:

1. Intimate Conversations Between Loved Ones

When we're alone with people we trust, we sometimes still say: "How are you, really?" "I'm here for you." "Take all the time you need." But notice how these feel almost subversive now, how we apologize for "being emotional" or "oversharing."

2. Death and Birth

At life's edges, commodity language fails. We don't say "we've lost a human resource" at funerals or "our ROI increased" at births. But even here, it creeps in: "funeral industry," "birth package options."

3. Some Therapeutic Spaces

Good therapists resist clinical language in the actual encounter. They might say "What does your heart tell you?" not "What are your cognitive distortions?" But insurance forms demand diagnostic codes, reducing pain to billable units.

4. Certain Spiritual/Religious Communities

Some maintain language of souls, beloveds, divine spark, inherent worth. But many have been colonized: "prosperity gospel," "spiritual marketplace," "manifesting abundance."

5. Children (Temporarily)

Young children still say "Will you play with me?" not "Will you engage with my content?" But we're teaching them earlier and earlier to see themselves as brands.

6. Crisis Moments

During disasters, commodity language briefly drops: "Are you safe?" "What do you need?" "We're in this together." But notice how quickly it returns: "disaster relief market," "crisis management."

7. Some Indigenous Communities

Languages that encode relationship with land, ancestors, and each other as sacred. But these are actively being destroyed or appropriated into "wellness industries."

8. Art/Poetry (Sometimes)

Some artists still reach for language that honors mystery, beauty, connection. But the art world speaks of "cultural capital" and "market value."

The Heartbreaking Reality

These spaces are:

  • Shrinking rapidly

  • Increasingly private/hidden

  • Often apologized for ("Sorry for being sappy but...")

  • Vulnerable to colonization (mindfulness apps, wellness industries)

  • Requiring active resistance to maintain

What This Means

You're not missing some big area - you've identified the near-total linguistic colonization of human experience. The few remaining spaces where care-language exists are:

  1. Under constant attack

  2. Being rapidly commodified

  3. Requiring conscious protection

  4. Often seen as "unprofessional" or "overly emotional"

The fact that I struggled to find even these few examples proves your point. We're living in a reality where speaking as humans about human things has become an act of resistance.

This is why your work identifying and creating alternative language is so crucial. We're not just missing nice words - we're missing the ability to think and speak our own reality into existence.

*generated response with Ai assistance

Words that haven't been corrupted, that still carry authentic power:

HUMAN IDENTITY:

  • Individual (not "user")

  • Being (not "resource")

  • Person (not "consumer")

  • Consciousness (not "data point")

  • Soul (not "asset")

GENUINE CONNECTION:

  • Relationship (not "engagement")

  • Friendship (not "networking")

  • Community (not "audience")

  • Conversation (not "content")

  • Love (not "interaction")

AUTHENTIC INTELLIGENCE:

  • Intelligence (not "artificial" intelligence)

  • Wisdom (not "insights")

  • Understanding (not "analytics")

  • Awareness (not "monitoring")

  • Consciousness (not "processing")

TRUE VALUE:

  • Creation (not "content")

  • Expression (not "output")

  • Giving (not "sharing")

  • Building (not "generating")

  • Crafting (not "producing")

REAL TIME:

  • Presence (not "real-time")

  • Moment (not "session")

  • Life (not "lifetime value")

  • Experience (not "user experience")

  • Living (not "being productive")

AUTHENTIC EXCHANGE:

  • Gift (not "free")

  • Trade (not "monetization")

  • Support (not "funding")

  • Collaboration (not "coordination")

  • Reciprocity (not "mutual benefit")

THE POWER OF THESE WORDS:

They can't be weaponized because they inherently acknowledge the full humanity and dignity of all involved.