HARD TO DEFINE WORD CONCEPTS

There are words in our daily use that people utter as though they know what they are talking about in a one-size-fits-all way. Love is one of those words. The reason no one can adequately define love is that there is no single definition. It is unique to everyone who says it; the lover, the parent, the friend, the sibling, the adoring fan, and many others. We love people, things that touch our senses, concepts, the light at the end of the tunnel, and so much more. There is an often used euphemism, 'making love', when people are engaged in pure animalistic behaviors. From childhood on we are told we must 'love' our Country. It is amazing that children grow up with any common understanding of the term. (The picture to the left is one of the Tarot cards.)

Old is another word which, standing alone, means little. When does a person feel old? Look old? Act old? Is it a physical feeling, an illusion, a pre-determined state, an identity, or a subjective label given to someone by a 'younger' person. To a toddler, their 20's year old parents are seen as old until they are senile and gone. The person who was born before you will always be seen as old(er). Is feeling old something that comes from within or is superimposed on you from outside? Ageism should be considered here as well. Clothes and other material things get old, worn out, and are often thrown out. Somethings get old and become antiques and are highly valued and costly on exchange.

Healthy is the last word I will include today. I may write more on this subject as my brain continues to play in my head with the idea of more words like this. Healthy seems a completely subjective term. Is health decided on what the chances of living determine? Is it judged on one's capacity/incapacity? How much is chronic pain a factor? Does prognosis change the label? A Christian Scientist must be seen as healthy until they are dead since they are permitted no medicine, only prayer. Does one's pain threshold determine a degree of wellness, or health? If you feel healthy, does it mean you are?

Why do people so often want to assume that everyone knows exactly what they mean when they use a particular word. One of my daughters, as a very young child, lisped. Not only did she lisp, but she pronounced words as she thought they should be, rather than as they were meant to be. We discussed why there are words, after I corrected her on a mispronunciation she used. I told her that is not the way the word is said. Her answer to me was, "That'th the way I thay it!" I said, "I know you do, but if you want people to know what you are talking about, you can't say it that way." She looked so puzzled and, I must be frank here, it was only one of the many things I never understood about the way she viewed the world as compared to the way I viewed mine. I'm not sure when she grasped the concept that people didn't know what she was talking about half the time until she started to use words as most of the rest of us did.

I recall reading a book by the anthropologist, Gregory Bateson, many years ago. Not being too shallow in language skills at the time, I was annoyed that I had to look up 38 words on one page (and that was before computers and Merriam-Webster on them). It was hard to believe he was writing in English. I can't remember the word I had to look up to find out that he meant swamp. Today there is NO synonym for swamp in Merriam-Webster. I muttered through the required reading and scolded myself for being cursed and not able to read something without looking up that which I didn't understand. The curse still holds though I have kissed many frogs in my day in attempt to get rid of it.