Daily prompt: Truth Serum

Tags

dictionary, meaning, postaday2014, truth

You’ve come into possession of one vial of truth serum. Who would you give it to (with the person’s consent, of course) — and what questions would you ask?

My immediate thought was to give the truth serum to either President Obama or former President Bush or any political figure to ask them the truth about what is really going on, but then I thought about it and for what, what would it change and what does the word “truth” really mean?

What does Truth mean?
noun
the quality or state of being true:
“he had to accept the truth of her accusation”
synonyms: veracity · truthfulness · verity · sincerity · candor · honesty ·
More:
that which is true or in accordance with fact or reality:
“tell me the truth”
synonyms: fact(s) · reality · real life · actuality

This is what the dictionary states, but it doesn’t take into account what perception does to reality. Facts are important, but we often forget that interpretation is what gives facts a narrative. If we look at our criminal justice system, truth is not often a factor, instead it is the more compelling version of the story that gets the job done. That is what attorney’s do; they take the facts and line them up in the narrative that will hopefully deliver their goal, either conviction or acquittal.

I think that our personal truths are our own and it is within our personal context which makes it our truth. I have noticed that in any situation shared by any number of people, each one will emerge with their own personal truth of what happened and it is so rare that any of those truths align completely as one.

So that is why I wouldn’t even bother with a truth serum, I would by all means ask for that person’s opinion and have them give me their complete story, but I would not call that the truth, I would call it their story, their logical progression based on the facts as they understand them and that would be what I would be interested in finding out, not necessarily the truth.

Then I could better understand where they were coming from in their decision making process.

I think that the word truth has gotten distorted over time and we need to reevaluate what we are looking for when we use the word. I don’t know if I adequately explained my understanding and my meaning of truth, facts, reality and how they are interrelated. I hope that I made sense.

Daily prompt: Sound right

Tags

meaning, postaday2014, sounds, words

This is clearly subjective, but some words really sound like the thing they describe (personal favorites: puffin; bulbous; fidgeting). Do you have an example of such a word (or, alternatively, of a word that sounds like the exact opposite of what it refers to)? What do you think creates this effect?

The first word that popped in my head was nubile; a very sexy word in my estimation. The next word that followed was languish, staccato slipped into next place; these three beautiful words fit very nicely between sound and meaning. Then I thought about fast and slow.

I pondered the words fast and slow, thinking does the word slow sound slow? Does fast sound fast? Do they sound right only because I know what they mean and does it makes sense only because those words are ingrained indelibly with those meanings?

In French the word for fast is vite and the word for slow is lent; same issue in French as in English; do the words mirror in sound their meaning or is it knowing their meaning that makes the sound make sense?

Words, sound and meaning, I would say that they are all inter-related, I can’t think of an anachronistic relation between sound and meaning in relation to the word. Good topic to think about; it made me appreciate the richness of our vocabulary either in English or French and how lucky I am that I can flip from one to the other. Words are good, where would we be without them?

Witnessing something symbolic

Tags

body art, meaning, postaday2013, symbolism, tattoo

Today my hubby and I went with the baby girl as support while she received her first tattoo. My hubby has three tattoos, so he was understanding and completely on board with the tattoo idea. Myself, on the other hand, always made it a point of honor that both my children wait until eighteen before they had any type of piercings or tattoos done because personally, I find them very unappealing. My husband is the only person that I know of who has tattoos that I find suit him and that are attractive.

My baby girl waited until the day after her 19th birthday to get her tattoo and she specifically asked us to go, so how can I say no. I might not agree with tattoos but it isn’t my body, it is hers, so I can’t just impose my tastes and sensibilities on her. It is simply a matter of taste and self-expression after all. I can’t deny her my support just because of a difference in taste. She is my baby girl after all and since it is a painful undertaking, she has to hold someone’s hand and it should be mine, her Maman.

I have to hand it to the baby girl, she was awfully brave and pain tolerant. The tattoo artist himself was quite impressed by her grit and stoicism. My hubby and I weren’t so surprised because she has always been plucky and feisty, since she was a tiny little thing.

Daily prompt: It’s all about me

Tags

blogging, meaning, postaday2013, title, writing

Explain how you choose your blog’s title and what it means to you.

I didn’t choose a title for my blog when I started writing because I wasn’t really thinking of a blog per se, but rather a writing area, replacing the traditional diary or journal. I never thought that my writing would attract readers, I was writing for writing’s sake and to exercise my inner anxieties. On the other hand, my blog’s title, laurieanichols, is precisely what my blog is all about, me. So in that vein my blog’s title is completely apropos. It’s my blog and I can write what I want to, whine if I want to, complain if I want to, more or less do what I want to with my blog.

I have found that in the past two years I have wanted to share more and more of myself with my newfound community of WordPress friends. The relationships that I have built over these various posts that I have written in response to prompts and organically generated have become very important to me. This is the best gift that writing has given me, an online fellowship with other writers from all around the world. Moreover, the letting go of excess stress and anxiety just by writing it down is a blessing in and of itself. This is the best thing that I have ever done for myself, well this and walking; another form of therapy albeit physical therapy.

I have another blog which I did title, A Progressive’s Thoughts, where I write about my political thoughts in the form of comments I make on articles and blog posts that I read on the Huffington Post. The title that I chose is precisely what it says, it’s my thoughts on political questions and situations and I consider myself a progressive, hence A Progressive’s Thoughts; pretty self-explanatory.

I’m happy with my two blogs, they are my outlets for my thoughts and opinions and a place that I get to interact with wonderful people who are my friends.