Moveable spots

It's always fascinating to watch the science, history, and Nat Geo channels. Besides the interesting information that passes before one's eyes, it is full of surprises. Many times, a person will hear lines such as, "This presses the knowledge we now have," or "We used to think that x happened, but new evidence suggests...." I love living in the world in which new boundaries are found, old information is revised, new theories are being discovered and applied.

It's a little bit like the freeing experience of knowing an ancient language and being trained in the science of language. One does not feel so bound by translations because the fluidity of language is one of the key components to understanding any language. Although language does follow a certain set of rules at its core, there's a beauty to the aesthetic side of language such as semantics, idioms, and the colorful, regional use of a language.

The other day I was flipping channels on the radio and came across a program where the speaker was defining two Greek words (one usually translated slave, the other usually meaning servant). It's hard to know the limits of synonyms. Even in English it's a rather enlightening exercise to distinguish the meanings of "glad," "happy," "ecstatic," and "merry." We say "Happy Birthday," "Merry Christmas," "glad reaction," and "ecstatic victory." Are the words interchangeable in those expressions? They all mean about the same thing. But there are nuances, of course. In working with translation, it's just liberating to me to know that not every word is slotted into the same place always and forever.

And really, that observation is a good philosophy for life. There are certain rules to be maintained for order's sake, but not everything is slotted in at the same spot always and forever. There's a fluidity to life like there is to language. That realization helps me to be a more caring, sensitive, accepting individual. It helps me live in the moment of today. Since I'm not guaranteed tomorrow, I like being caring when the day presents it, or accepting if the circumstance requires. It's a good thing to know "people were not made for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath for people."