"I cherish my ability to adore," Jan Phillips wrote in No Ordinary Time. "I wake up adoring life, adoring earth, adoring dawn and the sound of the birds...."
When I read that this week, I was so struck by the word "adore." It's a word I very seldom use. But it struck me as a powerful word. It produced images in my mind that softened my heart somehow. It just had a different feel from using the word "love" in those same phrases. Perhaps it's because we use the word "love" so much.
I have similar feelings about the word "cherish" and the word "enchanted." Aren't they wonderful words? And don't they just make you happy when you read or say them? Some words simply delight us and open our hearts in new ways. That's the power of words.
I want to incorporate some of these delightful words into my vocabulary—because simply put, they just make me feel softer, lighter, more positive. I'm going to think more about adoring life and the sounds of the birds. What about you? Any words that are so delicious to you and change your attitude just by saying or thinking about them?
Oh, I totally agree! Words can amplify a feeling or purpose so beautifully, all the way from the starkness of "bloviate" and "bodacious," to the wonder of "magnificent" and "splendid," to the softness of "allure" and "serene," to the delightful feel of "scrumptious" and "meander." Then, of course, there are times for which there are absolutely no words!
ReplyDeleteWhat delightful examples you've given us. Thank you for that. And, yes, we absolutely have some experiences that literally leave us speechless—on both ends of the spectrum (incredible beauty or incredible pain). Do some of the rest of you have words that touch you like this?
ReplyDelete