In days of past and the days to come I find that the word "LOVE" is over run with words that are empty . I am just as guilty for the over use of the word. "Love" seems to have lost it's luster in so many cases... the degrees of "love" vary too. I wish that my "user friendly vocabulary" was broader than what it is currently. There are so many other words in the world that are better at describing what we see, feel, smell, and think than what we tend to rely on. Even now while writing here, I need to bounce words off of a friend..... my mind simply goes blank with options unless I hear it. I don't mean to be lazy in my speech it's just I don't hear, see, or quite frankly think of the other words. I have noticed I don't read much variety either.
So... what do we do? I am learning to use my thesaurus more and yet cringe at the possible "fake" intellect it may portray. How, in a society where "That's Hot" is common place for "That is exquisite" or "You look absolutely, devastatingly beautiful" , are we to encourage more clarity and variety in our words with out sounding pompous? To clear away the apathy of limited vocabulary use will undoubtedly take effort and quite possibly a verbal revolution.
Do you think our society has simply become "comfortable" or is it sheer laziness .... maybe it's the fear of using something uncommon. Who knows it's just my observation... what other words can describe the white hot passion I feel for my husband.. or the amazing bliss I feel sipping on the sweet warm comfort from my favorite coffee paradise? And how do you put it into conversation with out sounding like a nut? Not the hard shell variety ... not like a mad person or someone that is pompous and talks down to others around them ... I would just like to use more words to better describe what I am thinking. I would enjoy a larger well used verbal dictionary/thesaurus of my own tongues If any one has suggestions
I would love
... no I would RELISH in hearing them.
Thank you for reading the mad libs of this born to the wrong era alien. (though I do love the life I live. :) )
(photo by: MorBCN on flicker ... thank you for such an fantastic photo. If there were only more storefronts like this. :))
5 comments:
I agree with you Nette. Somewhere, somehow we've all become too lethargic (I SO looked this up). I helped myself with this problem by investing in a thesaurus. I find that it has helped me tremendously by increasing my knowledge of words.
Dear Nette,
I agree we need to broden our vocabulary horizons. It would probably be good if I could correctly spell the word I mean. *wink* To know a good word in it's context would be to use it wrong a time or two. *smile* Think of when we learn to talk, we use words in funny ways, they sound odd to our ears and feel funny in our mouths. Pick a new word for each day or week and try to use it in a sentance, that makes sence, once a day or once an hour. That would lengthen your vocabulary and by doing it gradually it would not come across as "pompus" to those around you whom you speak with regularly. Take care and remember to pray always.
Sincerely,-me-(Mommy of two little blessings):)
When I listen to someone's form of speech and it exudes excellence and intelligence, I don't usually think of them as being pompous... I think of them as wise.
Of course, tone and attitude matter as well.
I would tend to think that laziness is a large factor in our society's speech, and maybe a lack of care in the words that fly out. Or maybe it's the disease of not thinking before speaking! I know I've been prone to that!
I've found though, that this whole bloggy thing has been a great aid to my conversations in person. And I like that!
Oh I so agree Nette. Its so overused it tends to become meaningless. Except now we are overun with that expression everyone uses now, 'I heart this or that', instead of saying I love this or that. Quite frankly, I would not do anything as you will find that words like bliss and heart will superscede love on the trend scale and you can reclaim love for what it truly was intended to mean. Mmmm now I think I have even confused myself. Great thoughtful post. I loved it, he he.
Words, the expressive, lovely vocabulary of the heart and soul has indeed become lost. It has been tossed into a flimsy plastic grocery bag, muddled about with the phrase of "Have a good day"...
And I lament that so many will never know the joy of the tender gift of a handwritten note sent by post...or feel their heart and soul stir as they read a sonnet...
But then again, I am biased :)
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