“Gentle words bring life and health; a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.” — Christian Proverb
Today I’d like to focus on words, specifically the roots of words and their meanings. In an age where words have become slogans, often politicized and sometimes trivialized, their true meanings have, in some cases, become so distorted or even perverted, that they have come to infer something entirely different from its original intention and all its profundity.
In art, we know the power of symbols — their ability to incite emotion and initiate thought. Words are a convenience of communication that have, over humankind’s history, come to signify so much more than mere dialogue. By looking at the roots of words, we might see and learn to understand the profound meaning and intentions that lie at their origins. I think they are well worth pondering.
illusion:
Usually meaning falsity, misrepresentation or deception, its roots belong to the latin word ludere which means to play. So rather than being viewed as a negative, illusion or maya (its root word in ancient Sanskrit) signifies the game of life or theatre — a place of fun, exploration and make-believe. As artists, we know that to create means to dive into our imaginations. In order to bring about the most amazing magic — to form the most believable of illusions — and turn our dreams into beautiful physical expression, inventive play is absolutely necessary. Therefore, to solve our multitude of challenges, and to do so creatively, means to have a childlike mindset of playfulness.
“We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” — George Bernard Shaw, Playwright
noise:
Commonly thought of only as it relates to sound or hearing, noise actually has its roots in the word nausea signifying physical disturbance or sickness. One French definition for noise is parasite describing again how offensive and invasive noise is to the human mind and body. Today, we’re ceaselessly bombarded by noise — industrial, vehicular, television & radio, smartphones, advertising and even our own conditioned thoughts — that it seems almost impossible to avoid it in modern society. Yet to create, we must find solace from distraction and consciously form environments that allow us to listen and see more clearly, for without clarity, there can be no vision.
“Out, beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about.”― Rumi, Poet
responsibility:
This much dreaded word of today comes from the combination of the Latin words respondere, meaning to respond, and the word abilitas, meaning ability. So in a sense, responsibility represents not burden but rather opportunity — the opportunity and ability to respond. Hence, responsibility is something we should crave rather than dread because it means that we decide; we make the present and the future. This is incredibly hopeful without being utopian.
In dreams begin responsibilities.” — W. B. Yeats, Poet
idea:
Before this word came into its more crystallized form to mean the “result of thinking or concept” it originally referred to the nature of something, its mode or fashion. In a sense, it refers to the look of something, the seeing of it. Its form originates from the Greek term wide-es-ya, suffixed from the root of weid “to see.” Therefore, to form ideas, is to see them and to see them as true as we can. I’ve always believed that to form ideas, we must learn to see with our eyes and minds wide open. The most visionary, the most creative of us, are truly attentive, truly great at seeing.
“Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.”― Confucius, Philosopher
passion:
Passion has its roots from the Latin word passio, meaning suffering or if going deeper, it tracks back to the word passivus or pati, to be capable of deep feeling or suffering without activity or without resistance. So when we think of being very passionate about something, it really means to suffer from it, to be completely vulnerable to it. Perhaps this is why, without suffering or giving in, we can not find true beauty or meaning behind things. It is not surprising then, that the word compassion, which means to feel pity or togetherness for, has its roots in understanding someone else’s pain — their sorrow — and hence come to mean real kindness and understanding, the very virtues seriously required to be human.
“Sorrow is deeply related to beauty.” — Jiddu Krishnamurti, Philosopher
fear:
The word fear has its roots in the word phobia, coming from the Greek word Phobos which means irrational fear or horror. The Anglo-Saxon usage of the term refers to ambush or real physical danger. Today, fear pervades of all of our minds. Our modern “economy-focused” culture today leans heavily on the idea of fear to motivate us into action; to doing what we don’t want to do (like undesirable labour) and to consume (in order to alleviate that fear). Those terrible fears of not having enough money, of lacking real talent or not receiving love from others cause many in our society to live in constant terror. Yet, not much of this fear is genuinely real or immediately dangerous. Our fears today reside primarily in the mind, in our thoughts. As its root word implies, most of it is just worry.
“I have been through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened.”― Mark Twain, Writer
discipline:
Discipline often infers obedience or the punishment implied as a result of deviation from such obedience. But before its distortion into becoming the French word we know now, the roots of discipline come from the Latin word disciplina, meaning disciple or pupil. So, to be disciplined is to mean one who is well-learned or well-studied. A devotee to discipline is one who loves learning and, because learning is life, the pursuit of learning about ourselves and our world is that truest from of education. Therefore, rather than obsessing over the trite and meaningless accumulation of material wealth, social status, or even spiritual bragging rights, being disciplined — i.e. being focused on learning — is the best and most beautiful way of satisfying our insatiable need to grow or expand. A disciplined life gives meaning and joy to our very existence.
“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” — Mahatma Gandhi