Shining Thru

Does there need to be a definition of something for it to be a real thing?  If you were to ask something their definition of happiness, you might get a different definition every time…so much of an emotion or some non-tangable thing depends on the perspective of the person who is experiencing it.  Everyone has their own past and present that they bring to the table when they experience something new….Two people can be at the same event at the same time, standing right next to each other, and report two completely different things depending on what they saw through their own eyes…

Does that mean that the non-tangable things like happiness, sadness, anger, faith, etc. are not real things?  If there is no definition that will work for everyone, can it be a real thing, or something that just floats around in our subconscious or out there in the universe somewhere waiting to be experienced by every individual person so that everyone can decide for themselves what exactly each thing is or should be defined as.  So, if the definition isn’t solid, does that mean we can’t believe these things exist? 

I don’t think so, I think there can be a general understanding of something without an actual definition; however, if you start asking people to give a definition to these complicated feelings and concepts, you will only run into more questions.  What is happiness – anything that makes you feel good -  well then what is good?  And so on and so on. 

Is the definition what makes something real, or is the simple general knowledge what makes it real, and or gives it character among the living?

“Be the change you wish to see in the world”  -Gandhi

Can one person really make that big of a difference?  This is a great sentiment that I ran across while looking at a wall of quotes, but if everyone’s ideals are different then I have to assume that if everyone were to live according to this particular quote, that there would also be someone who is equally determined to act opposite from your personal ideals for the world….what happens at that point?  Does it become a battle of the wills to force your change onto the world?  Or can people co-exist with different idealistic goals?  Is living according to your own ideals suppose to make a difference in the world?

What if your ideals go against the conventions of society?  What if someone’s ideals go against the laws of their country?  Are they still suppose to openly defy the laws and live according to their ideals anyway?  Do they secretly wish for their ideals to be accepted?

Where is the line of living in accordance to your own ideals and still accepting everyone else’s ideals while still living according to the constraints of society?  How far do you push the line of the taboo?

It’s nice to see quotes from people like Gandhi, but you have to wonder if there really is any truth to their inspirational purpose, or if they are just pretty words to see on a wall….

Why is it that some people can be so careless with their words, thinking that nothing they say matters; when others feel like people should hang on every syllable? 

Some people will say whatever pops into their minds, no matter what the consequences, mainly because they never stop to think about the consequences.  They also don’t always realize that somebody might be taking all of their spoken thoughts to heart.  Sometimes things should stay in a person’s head.  I, for one, am very glad that people can’t read each other’s minds.  I would be really embarrassed if people could hear or see every thought that popped into my head, and I don’t think I want to know what everyone around me really things about me.

Then the other group of people, don’t seem to realize when what they have to say really doesn’t affect the other person at all, and is just a waste of time as far as the listener is concerned.  Sometimes I think these people need to take a step back and realize that not everyone is going to care, and they should not automatically assume that people do care about what they have to say.  Not everyone is going to have the same interests as these talkers, but these people just don’t seem to realize that not everyone wants to listen.  Not everyone wants to waste their time with what the talker feels is important.  Some people just want to know what they absolutely need to know and then move on with their lives. 

It’s always amazing how two extremes exist every day side by side.  I’m not sure how people don’t drive each other crazy every day.  Or maybe they do and we just don’t hear about it.

Have you ever met someone who likes to take classic, cliche sayings and twist them around just a little?  I heard one today that just made me laugh and I loved it instantly; “Imitation is the sincerest form of insanity.”  I heard that on the Dish tonight and I thought it was great, because sometimes it’s true.  Imitation might be flattering in some instances, but sometimes it’s simply because some people are crazy, or stupid and can’t come up with an original thought in their head. 

Hearing expressions like this one be twisted around always makes me think of the power of words.  Changing one word can change the whole saying drastically.  Words are such powerful things that my favorite author, David Turrill, wrote, “we name things to make them real.”  I think that he had a point, without a name, how do we talk about that thing?  If we can’t talk about it, we can’t express thought about a thing and therefore the thoughts are not put out into anyone else’s mind and are then easily lost. 

Words help us to make thoughts into reality.  I really think that sometimes the only barrier between a thought and reality is the words to clearly define and express something.  In a lot of ways, words hold more power than people may realize.  Words can comfort or hurt people.  Words can define and make something important, or blow off and make something disappear into the world of the unimportant.

Words are a powerful thing…I think that most of us have heard about the power of words at one point or another in some degree.  Have you ever stopped to think about the difference words have made in your life; somebody saying one simple phrase and having it stick with you for the rest or your life?  If it was a positive or negative phrase is irrelevant, the important thing is that you remember it, and because it stayed alive in your mind, and stirred some type of feeling, it’s power came to life, when it influenced who you are. 

Words can do the same thing to the masses.  Words are what make people fear, argue, agree, or ignore.  The way words are spoken, the connotations of the words used, the jargon that is given out freely by the media.  Words can also inspire an entire group, generation, or nation.   Look at the influence of all of the different ways words are delivered, from the nightly news to the newest song played on the radio.  The words that we surround ourselves with have a big influence on who we are.  Having the right words at the right time can be amazingly powerful, you can change someone’s day, or outlook on life, or start a revolution by influencing the masses and convincing them that it’s time for change.  Change comes through words.  This philosophy is demonstrated and and pondered in the book that I’m currently reading, Ender’s Game.  Like 1984 and The Giver, the book uses some sci-fi type qualities to make some very real, current, and relevant points to our world today.  Think about how long books and poems stay alive in circulations, in libraries, in homes, in classrooms, etc….continuously being interpreted and influencing people.  Or at least some books are treated with that reverence….some are never even published.  It’s all about having the right words for the right group at the right time.  Some people have a gift for writing that reaches many people over centuries, generation after generation, the words are valued.  But this gift is rare….

Think about how revolutions throughout history have began…with words.  There is always someone from an intelligent and more experienced group that rallies the masses with WORDS.  Pamphlets, speeches, songs, whatever it takes to spread a common message and influences the masses that are needed to really make a difference.  If the numbers aren’t there than the intelligence is just going to stay an idea in one person’s mind and maybe be discussed on a rare night when nothing else is happening….but it never goes beyond the circle and into the masses if it’s not delivered at the right time. 

Word choice is extremely important if you want to use your words to control, then they need to be considered with all of the connotations(associations) as well as the denotations(definition) that come along with words.  The media has a lot of control over the masses because of their word choice.  The media has the power to scare or reassure with pretty much any story that they put on television or run in the paper.  Either way, word choice is key. 

The internet makes the spread of words amazingly fast…we have advanced now to the spread of video.  In a matter of minutes an entire school with have a video clip that someone took on their cell phone of some unfortunate or fortunate student or teacher…..Think about how many people from different backgrounds, cultures, and countries read the same passages on the Internet….even this blog is read across the world…which is amazing, at least to me. 

Words are very powerful things, they can be used to inspire or knock down….the thing about words, especially the written word, once it’s out there, it’s almost impossible, if not completely impossible to ever get them out of circulation, out of people’s minds, especially with the wonderful world wide web.