“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around" (Leo Buscaglia)
Our existence is literally defined by the words we choose to use . . . the restriction of language,by poor education, or by cultural and/or political negation steals the experience of life from us, because it cannot be verbalized and thus shared.
Think about George Orwell's book 1984 where "Newspeak" seeks to eliminate language in the deliberate effort to end "thought crime" i.e., resistance to authority, by destroying any way of conceptualizing anything other than rigid orthodoxy.
The English language is the most expressive language on the planet, by far nearly a quarter of a million words, although 20,000 to 40,000 is the upper usage range (Shakespeare, who invented quite a few words himself, used around 25,000 in his works) Other modern languages have at best a quarter of that. So we have variety and near endless options to illustrate our world with.
Now consider the words you use to describe your life, your day to day experiences . . . when someone asks you how your day has been,was it "fine" or "okay?" Even if it wasn't a great day, mightn't it still be interesting or mundane or insiped, or pehaps it was better than that; exhilirating, exceptional, rewarding?
The power of our words can transform; how we see ourselves, our world, and how we can effect, or even infect, that world, hopefully for the better.
Vocabulary then isn't just some little mind teaser; it is our fundamental expression and our self-definition, it is thus life itself and how you choose to create it . . .
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