The What Is Series

Have you ever paused to consider that, for every word we speak or think, as we attribute a specific meaning (or set of meanings) to each and every word, so do we equally also define what every word does not mean? Take the word ‘love’ as an example. By accepting the numerous common meanings and depictions of that one word alone, what if we are missing what might also be Love in the fullest, richest meaning that could be expressed and lived by a human being?

What follows then, if we have a dictionary full of words and a common vocabulary that apply a less-than-complete meaning to many aspects of human life, is the possibility that we are communicating, expressing and therefore living a way of life that is a reduction, being less than our full capacities both individually and as a society.

If we have reduced human life by the attributed meaning of our words, do we then need new words to refer to the unreduced meaning of those words… or should we, can we, simply decompress the words we already have and use, restoring them to their deeper, fuller and enriching meanings?  The What Is section of this website does just the latter, as our authors take an honest and observant look at some of the most significant words we have as human beings – whatever the language in which we might speak them – sharing their own experiences and insights.