Not just ordinary...

By Vichara


The biggest mistake you can make is thinking that your life is ordinary. Just in the sheer accomplishment of being born, the chemical reactions to bring you into this world, as a human being is astounding. The hundreds of things you learn, the skills you gain and the multitude of sensory things you experience in just one single day…absolutely remarkable! Yes we do have troubles, there are worries and pain but with the communal resources we find the means to gain perspective and find the solutions. These are not ordinary things, you are not ordinary and this life of your is not ordinary.

daedal • \DEE-dul\ • adjective
1 *a : skillful, artistic b : intricate
2 : adorned with many things

Example Sentence:
The filmmaker makes daedal use of lighting effects and camera angles to create a noirish atmosphere.

Did you know?
You might know Daedalus as the mythological prisoner who fashioned wings of feathers and wax to escape from the island of Crete with his son Icarus. But it was as architect and sculptor, one said to have designed a labyrinth for King Minos on Crete, that he earned his name. "Daedalus" (from Greek "daidalos") is Latin for "skillfully wrought." The same skillful Latin adjective gave English the adjectives "daedel" (in use since the 16th century) and "Daedalian" (or "Daedalean"), a synonym of "daedal."

The electronic campfire...

By Vichara


Conversing and sharing thoughts in this forum is almost like sitting around a warm campfire on a cool dark night. You know that there are people out there but it’s just dark enough that you need to trust that they are out there and listening. This electronic campfire where we share thoughts and concepts is a remarkable thing but we all need to ensure that we also utilize and maintain the human interaction, face-to-face, everyday.

chauffeur • \SHOH-fer\ • noun
: a person employed to drive a motor vehicle

Example Sentence:
The teenagers hired a limousine with a chauffeur to take them to the prom in style.

Did you know?
Here's a hot tip about the origins of today's word: the first chauffeurs were people employed to stoke a steam engine and keep it running. The literal meaning of the French noun "chauffeur" (from the verb "chauffer," meaning "to heat") is "one that heats." In the early days of automobiles, French speakers extended the word to those who drove the "horseless carriage," and it eventually developed an extended sense specifically for someone hired to drive other people. It was this latter sense that was borrowed into English in the late 19th century. Incidentally, the French word "chauffeur" derives from the same Anglo-French word that gave English speakers the verb "chafe," and ultimately can be traced back to the Latin verb "calēre" ("to be warm").

The truths...

By Vichara


What truth will work for you today? One will appear and if it feels right there will not be a need to fortify it with a foundation of words, deeds or actions. If it is an essential truth it will stand up on it’s own and act as a guidepost / marker to the next phase of your journey. The key will be of course having the sensibility to recognize a truth when it appears and that is an intuitive skill that everyone has but will get masked by self-deception and indulgence. If you can break free of some of these delusions, the clarity of your vision will become clearer. The recognizing of basic but profound truths will appear effortlessly without a struggle and the path becomes clearer. Give up the struggle and your understanding becomes clearer.

eleemosynary • \el-ih-MAH-suh-nair-ee\ • adjective
: of, relating to, or supported by charity

Example Sentence:
"All politicians realize that senior citizens are the biggest contributors to eleemosynary causes … and are the most dependable source of volunteer hours for the public well-being." (Louis J. Finkle, The Biloxi Sun Herald [Mississippi], May 24, 2008)

Did you know?
While you may not agree with the grammarian who asserted that "a long and learned word like this should only be used under the stress of great need," you might find that remembering how to spell "eleemosynary" makes you tend to use its synonym "charitable" instead. The good people of early England had mercy on themselves when it came to spelling and shortened the root of "eleemosynary," the Latin "eleemosyna," to "ælmes," which they used as their word for "charity." (You may be more familiar with "alms," an "ælmes" derivative that came to denote food or money given to the poor.) The original Latin root was resurrected in the early 17th century to give us the spelling challenge of the adjective we feature today.

Hot new product...JSU!!!...

By Vichara


Introducing a new weight loss program for the extraneous mental afflictions that weigh you down and keep you from moving forward. It’s the new verbal lobotomy called “JSU” – Just Shut Up! Yes folks it may sound like a miracle, it may sound like some otherworldly cure but when it comes to shedding the pounds of unnecessary conversation and excessive, useless banter sometimes it’s time for JSU! Not sold in stores or on-line, JSU comes to you from your own intuitive intellect without the required shipping charges with most commercial products. JSU come to you FREE! yes free folks. And the benefit you and others may gain is greater understanding, deeper emotions, peaceful attitudes and a myriad of other beneficial emotional results. Sometimes words are unnecessary, so try JSU today…batteries not included.

dead hand • \DED-HAND\ • noun
1 : an inalienable possession of property by a church or corporation
2 : the oppressive influence of the past

Example Sentence:
"If newspapers wish to survive," said Edward, "then editors need to wrest free from the dead hand of print journalism and embrace the more dynamic capabilities of the Web."

Did you know?
Does "dead hand" make you picture a pale dismembered hand creeping slowly toward its next unsuspecting victim? If so, you're in for a surprise -- but not a scary one. "Dead hand" is a literal translation of "mortmain," which comes from the Old French words "morte" (meaning "dead") and "main" (meaning "hand"). In very unspooky terms, both the French and English terms describe property that is left to a company, church, or charity in perpetuity. The "oppressive past influence" sense of both "mortmain" and "dead hand" developed from the idea of the dead exercising posthumous control over their property by dictating how it must be used after they die.

Surrender!...

By Vichara


Surrender! The word has a sense of failure one way and the sense of acceptance in another. Failure, because you have been defeated and acceptance to understand when another approach could be necessary. If you think for a moment we do surrender many times of the day to sometimes things you wouldn’t think of. You surrender to your mug of coffee / tea in hope that it will stimulate your alertness to function in the morning. Surrender and trust that the vehicle you are driving functions to get to work. Surrender to the foods we consume in that hey will provide the sustenance and nutritional value to keep the body going. And surrender to sleep that will give us needed rest to do this all over again the next day. Surrender can have a bad rap but in numerous ways we do it everyday. The key is in knowing that surrendering is not giving up; it is recognizing that maybe there is another way and that is not a failure.

proffer • \PRAH-fer\ • verb
: to present for acceptance : tender, offer

Example Sentence:
Several recommendations were proffered by the financial board on how to reduce the city's debt without making drastic cuts in department budgets.

Did you know?
You may notice a striking similarity between "proffer" and "offer." Are the two words connected by etymology? Yes, indeed. "Proffer" comes from Anglo-French "profrer," which itself is an alteration of the earlier "porofrir." That word in turn combines "por-" (which means "forth" and is related to our "pro-") and "offrir" (which means "to offer" and is an ancestor of our word "offer"). "Proffer" entered English in the 14th century. A more literary word than plain "offer," it adds or puts stress on the idea of voluntariness, spontaneity, or courtesy on the part of the one doing the tendering.

Koan #9...

By Vichara


Another week, another Koan – “The way is not difficult for someone without preferences”. In all of our activities there are expectations. When something confronts us we of course place values, is it good or bad, desired or undesired, irritating or non-irritating. By placing these judgments on every one of these situations we obscure what truly is happening. Another way is to accept all that you like and dislike with equanimity. This is not an acquiescence or passive resignation, this is acceptance of things as they are. If things are unencumbered by expectations and judgments then there are possibilities of solutions being found by this intuitive nature we all have.

qua • \KWAH\ • preposition
: in the capacity or character of : as

Example Sentence:
The school gym qua dance floor was where Oscar and Nanette fell in love.

Did you know?
Which way? Who? No, we’re not paraphrasing lines from the old Abbott and Costello routine "Who’s on First?"; we’re referring to the etymology of "qua," a term that comes to us from Latin. It can be translated as "which way" or "as," and it is a derivative of the Latin "qui," meaning "who." "Qua" has been serving English in the capacity of a preposition since the 17th century. It’s a learned but handy little word that led one 20th-century usage writer to comment: "Qua is sometimes thought affected or pretentious, but it does convey meaning economically."

Unified...

By Vichara


To even look at the future without the balance of understanding and compassion is a foolish venture. Without the foundation that will guide each other's hearts on a steady course can be fraught with insecurities. Unless we resolve collectively that the course of action that lies in front of each one of us is based on compassionate cooperation and fearless understanding the each step will not contain the confidence necessary for a more unified future. It can be done, we need to look forward in the same direction.

spear-carrier • \SPEER-kair-ee-er\ • noun
1 a : a member of an opera chorus b : a bit actor in a play
2 : a person whose actions are of little significance or value in an event or organization

Example Sentence:
Although the former aide was only a spear-carrier in the then-President's administration, his recently published memoir, which points an accusatory finger at several key players, is causing quite a stir.

Did you know?
"Spear-carrier" began to be used for a person having a non-speaking or supernumerary role in opera or theater in the 1950s. The name likely came from the nondescript, often spear-carrying soldiers who appear in the background or as walk-ons in plays about ancient Rome or Greece. Off-stage, "spear-carrier" refers to a person having a minimal role in the undertaking of some major event or in the workings of some major organization.

Tick, tock...

By Vichara


Tick tock, tick tock, there goes another part of your day. Tick tock, tick tock, there goes the time you were hoping to spend in a worthwhile activity only to be sidetracked with some “busy” work. It is getting to the point that you can’t even enjoy a good cup of coffee because that is used to compliment even more activity. You are not even given a moment to stare out at the world in front of you, unfocused, without nattering, using those moments to feel the warmth of the fluid inside of you and to taste the smoky flavor and smooth texture. Perhaps we need to allow ourselves say, one afternoon, to do one activity at a time until finished. To move away for a moment from the uber hyper multi-tasking ball that we spin most everyday and regain the sense of accomplishment in place of numerous things in various stages, like spinning plates that are on the verge of crashing. Tick, one thing done, tock, another thing done, tick, that’s finished, tock (breathe) done.

contemn • \kun-TEM\ • verb
: to view or treat with contempt : scorn

Example Sentence:
Jacob believes that any rational scientist must contemn theories of magic and the supernatural.

Did you know?
"Contemn" is derived from the Latin verb "contemnere," a word formed by combining "con-" and "temnere" ("to despise"). Surprisingly, our verb may have come within a hair's breadth of being spelled "contempn." The Middle French word "contempner" arrived in Middle English as "contempnen," but that extra "p" disappeared, leaving us with "contemn." You may be wondering about the connection between "contemn" and "contempt," and not surprisingly, they are related. "Contempt" comes from Latin "contemptus," which comes from "contemnere." "Contemn" first turned up in print in the 15th century; "contempt" dates from the 14th century.

The winner?...

By Vichara


“I’m the winner, I’m the winner, whoo hoo, and you’re a loser!” From my neighbor’s yard came this declaration from a little girl. Although I could not see her through the trees I heard such exuberance in her voice. A good amount of how things are measured is to identify the ultimate winner of each situation or activity. Even in one of my own daughter’s world as a young dancer they have competitions to determine who is the better dancer over individuals or groups. I know you will be thinking that the element of competition has been around for centuries and exalted in such historical events as the Olympics. While yes this element has been around for a very long time I am focusing on the element of competition where, if someone does declare themselves a winner, they use this as a tool of demeaning and lauding over the other person or group that they are inferior. If you personally need to have a winner in your daily activities then perhaps instead of using it as a sharp tool, acknowledge the other’s efforts and encourage them all. There is enough suffering in the world, why add to it.

inordinate • \in-OR-dun-ut\ • adjective
: exceeding reasonable limits : immoderate

Example Sentence:
Mary complained that she had to spend an inordinate amount of time cleaning up after her two sloppy roommates.

Did you know?
At one time if something was "inordinate," it did not conform to the expected or desired order of things. That sense, synonymous with "disorderly" or "unregulated," is now archaic, but it offers a hint at the origins of "inordinate." The word traces back to the Latin verb "ordinare," meaning "to arrange," combined with the negative prefix "in-." "Ordinare" is also the ancestor of such English words as "coordination," "subordinate," "ordination," and "ordain." "Ordinare" did not give us "order," "orderly," or "disorderly," but the root of those words is the same Latin noun ("ordo") from which "ordinare" itself derives.

The grip...

By Vichara


While sometimes it may seem ill advised you may need to loosen the grip you have on a situation in order for some circulation to return in an effort to get things resolved. Of course I am not talking about a physical grip but a physiological grip where the perceived need to have complete control could deter the situation at hand from resolving. You know like, stepping on your own feet, getting in your own way, that kid of idea. But there are sometimes the need and the requirement to take a step back and allow some things to work themselves out on their own. There is some intuitive trust that you must have in this relinquishment but there is sometimes the need just to do that very thing. So when things may get very tense you can try to remember that sometimes releasing some of your firm resolve could help with the resolution.

canicular • \kuh-NIK-yuh-ler\ • adjective
: of or relating to the dog days (the period between early July and early September when the hot sultry weather of summer usually occurs in the northern hemisphere)

Example Sentence:
During the canicular heat of August, many of the town's residents venture to the local swimming hole in search of a way to stay cool.

Did you know?
The Latin word "canicula," meaning "small dog," is the diminutive form of "canis," source of the English word "canine." "Canicula" is also the Latin name for Sirius, the star that represents the hound of Orion in the constellation named for that hunter from Roman and Greek mythology. Because the first visible rising of Sirius occurs during the summer, the hot sultry days that occur from early July to early September came to be associated with the Dog Star. The Greeks called this time of year "hēmerai kynades," which the Romans translated into Latin as "dies caniculares," or as we know them in English, "the dog days."

Koan #8...

By Vichara


Wham! Bam! It’s the Monday Ko-an!
“Look and see with your own eyes. If you hesitate you miss the mark for ever”. Your intuitive nature / voice can be a most powerful tool to cut through the procrastination that may keep you from doing the things you may want to do and keep you in a state of fear. These things could be significant or non-significant to others but it is important to you and it is and can be an essential ingredient of who you are. We will try to find many excuses not to do something, blaming many factors like cost, time, space, etc. What you are doing holding back. If you don’t seize the day, you will reach your death having missed your life. The “do-over” mostly lives in TV shows and movies. Don’t be deceived by this delusion. Rise out of your bunker of fear and procrastination and into the light of action and fulfillment. Don’t wait for someone to give you the keys…you already have them.

trichologist • \trih-KAH-luh-jist\ • noun
: a person who specializes in hair and scalp care; broadly : a person whose occupation is the dressing or cutting of hair

Example Sentence:
"You don't need to pay a trichologist or rely on hair-loss cure advertisements in magazines: your GP can conduct a series of blood tests to locate the problem." (David Fentonis, The Times [London], July 4, 2009)

Did you know?
Although you can accurately call the person who cuts your hair your "trichologist" if you want to, the term is usually applied as it is in our example sentence: to someone who studies and treats hair and scalp ailments. The "trich" in "trichologist" is the Greek "trich-," stem of "thrix," meaning "hair." This root makes an appearance in a number of other similarly technical-sounding words, such as "trichiasis" ("a turning inward of the eyelashes often causing irritation of the eyeball"), "trichome" ("an epidermal hair structure on a plant"), and "trichotillomania" ("an abnormal desire to pull out one's hair").

Resolve with resolve...

By Vichara


While sometimes it may seem ill advised, you may need to loosen the grip you have on a situation in order for some circulation to return in an effort to get things to resolve. Of course I am not talking about a physical grip but a physiological grip where the perceived need to have complete control could deter the situation at hand from resolving. You know like, stepping on your own feet, getting in your own way, that kind of idea. But there is sometimes the need and the requirement to take a step back and allow some things to work themselves out on their own. There is some intuitive trust that you must have in this relinquishment but there is some times where this will be needed. So when things may get very tense you can try to remember that sometimes releasing some of your firm resolve could help with the resolution.

El Dorado • \el-duh-RAH-doh\ • noun
1 : a city or country of fabulous riches held by 16th century explorers to exist in South America
2 : a place of fabulous wealth or opportunity

Example Sentence:
"To outsiders, California’s Silicon Valley looks like a contemporary El Dorado." (Time Magazine, Sept. 3, 1984)

Did you know?
In the early 1500s, Spanish conquistadores heard tales of an Amazonian king who regularly coated his body with gold dust, then plunged into a nearby lake to wash it off while being showered with gold and jewels thrown by his subjects. The Spaniards called the city ruled by this flamboyant monarch "El Dorado," Spanish for “gilded one,” and the story of the gold-covered king eventually grew into a legend of a whole country paved with gold. These days, “El Dorado” can also used generically for any place of vast riches, abundance, or opportunity. It is also the name of actual cities in Arkansas and Kansas.

Why?...

By Vichara


While I am certainly not above the fray of some attachments, there is excess of attachments that lead me to the question of “Why?” Why do you need more than one house to live in? While there is some perceived tax value to this concept you now have 2,3,4 places to put “stuff” in. You can only live in one at a time and while you are in one the others sit quietly while thousands have no place to sleep at night. Why 2,3,4 or more vehicles to drive while there are many that need to walk miles to find food and water. Why? While some will say well you only live once and if you got it, do it, enjoy it. You certainly can’t take all the things with you when you die. I think of better ways to disperse the dollars it costs to acquire these extraneous things but you need to ask yourself “Why? And follow your own path.

ingratiate • \in-GRAY-shee-ayt\ • verb
: to gain favor or favorable acceptance for by deliberate effort -- usually used with "with"

Example Sentence:
Even though the candidate is doing everything he can to ingratiate himself with voters, he still finds himself trailing in the polls.

Did you know?
Seventeeth-century English speakers combined the Latin noun "gratia," meaning "grace" or "favor," with the English prefix "in-" to create the verb "ingratiate." When you ingratiate yourself, you are putting yourself in someone's good graces to gain their approval or favor. English words related to "ingratiate" include "gratis" and "gratuity." Both of these reflect something done or given as a favor through the good graces of the giver.

Worldwide epiphany...

By Vichara


This could be the moment of change. This could be the day of revelation. This could be time that one epiphany you have been waiting for makes its appearance. All of the events, thoughts, feelings and experiences could gather together, stand up in front of you and smile. Are you ready, because they are ready for you. Open up your heart and let them be a force of good change and act as a catalyst for a more fulfilling life. This could be the day.

florilegium • \flor-uh-LEE-jee-um\ • noun
: a volume of writings : anthology

Example Sentence:
This florilegium of British poetry up to 1760 includes the classics that we have all come to love along with a few relatively unknown gems that are sure to delight and inspire.

Did you know?
Editors who compile florilegia (to use the plural form of today's word) can be thought of as gathering a bouquet of sweet literary blossoms. English speakers picked up "florilegium" from a New Latin word that derives from Latin "florilegus," which can be translated as "culling flowers." In fact, "florilegium" initially applied to a collection of flowers, and later to books about flowers, but it wasn't long before the word began to be used for (as the Oxford English Dictionary puts it) "a collection of the flowers of literature." And "florilegium" isn't the only English collecting term with a floral heritage; its synonym "anthology" comes from the Greek word for "flower gathering."

The outcome...

By Vichara


Without all of the vital information the outcome will always be suspect and never complete. The foundation will be weak and all the answers will be half answers and judgment will be impaired. Regardless of how each component is executed, even with the greatest skill, there will always be fragilities that will plague any outcome. By withholding, through vanity or indifference all of the results will be the same. This second, this minute, this hour, this day will never be repeated and what you leave in your wake will affect others. If you have the ways and means to change things around you, do it. If you don’t, enlist those who can and accept the responsibilities. There are only two choices because if you don’t everyone’s best efforts will never be able to fully complete the picture, without all of the vital information.

dernier cri • \dairn-yay-KREE\ • noun
: the newest fashion

Example Sentence:
When it came to shopping for a new wardrobe for school, Jacqueline tended to ignore the dernier cri and would instead pick clothes that suited her own tastes.

Did you know?
Paris has long been the last word in fashion, but hot designer clothes from the city's renowned runways aren’t the only stylish French exports. Words, too, sometimes come with a French label. "Dernier cri," literally "last cry," is one such chic French borrowing. The word is no trendy fad, however. More than a century has passed since "dernier cri" was the latest thing on the English language scene (and cut-steel jewelry was declared the dernier cri by the Westminster Gazette of December 10, 1896), but the term (unlike cut-steel) remains as modish as ever. Other fashionable French words have walked the runways of the English language since then: "blouson" (1904); "couture" (1908); "culotte" (1911); "lamé" (a clothing fabric, 1922); and "bikini" (1947), to name a few.

Koan #7...

By Vichara


If it’s Monday you know it’s time for this week’s Koan – “I burn the books in my bag. But the verses written in my guts cannot be forgotten”. There are many of us, myself included that have over the years come across the writings of others, that given whatever circumstances we were at struck a chord. While however useful and quotable these words can be to us these will always be their words. Forget the words and use the chords that have been struck, fold it into your life to further establish and develop your intuitive nature. The old Zen master, Ikkyu, burned his copies of the Buddhist scriptures and believed we should learn to read the love letters sent by the snow, the wind and the rain. He believed in following the dictates of his intuition. This may not be an easy task for some as we all can be easily influenced in some ways but the development of your intuition is vital. Question what you see, read and hear and take the time to develop your own voice and your own intuitive nature.

expatiate • \ek-SPAY-shee-ayt\ • verb
1 : to move about freely or at will : wander
2 : to speak or write at length or in detail

Example Sentence:
The middle schoolers grew restless as Mr. Donald expatiated on Pluto's classification as a dwarf planet.

Did you know?
The Latin antecedent of "expatiate" is "exspatiari," which combines the prefix "ex-" ("out of") with "spatiari" ("to take a walk"), itself from "spatium" ("space" or "course"). "Exspatiari" means "to wander from a course" and, in the figurative sense, "to digress." But when English speakers began using "expatiate" in 1538, we took "wander" as simply "to move about freely." In a similar digression from the original Latin, we began using "expatiate" in a figurative sense of "to speak at length." That's the sense of the word most often used these days, usually in combination with "on" or "upon.

The dance...

By Vichara


For the most part we walk blindly with this body believing we have infinite time. But as a dear friend of mine once said “You are only immortal for a limited time”. This delusionary state of believing that this existence will not end is only doing more harm, feeding into the fears that have developed over the years. This dance we have will certainly end as surely as the sun will rise and set so how we dance is the key. Do we dance with indifference and intolerance or do we dance with joy and appreciation. Do you choose to be a wallflower or to seek many dance partners and embrace with such exuberance that by the shear embracing of this side of the coin compels our appendages to shake and ripple with happiness. Because ultimately that is our goal, to be happy for as many dances that we can participate in everyday.

smithereens • \smih-thuh-REENZ\ • noun
: fragments, bits

Example Sentence:
Had the ceramic vase fallen off the mantel, it would have smashed into smithereens.

Did you know?
Despite its American sound and its common use by the fiery animated cartoon character Yosemite Sam, "smithereens" did not originate in American slang. Although no one is entirely positive about its precise origins, scholars think that "smithereens" likely developed from the Irish word "smidiríní," which means "little bits." That Irish word is the diminutive of "smiodar," meaning "fragment." Written record of the use of "smithereen" dates back to 1829.

3-D Perception...

By Vichara


Everything will be measured by the weight of your heart. If the capacity you hold is small you will be limited in how much you will receive and dispense. If you keep a guarded, yet expansive heart the vistas you witness will reach beyond the peripheral to a whole new realm. Sort of like your own 3-D movie, except this one you can reach out and actually touch it.

demean • \dih-MEEN\ • verb
: to conduct or behave (oneself) usually in a proper manner

Example Sentence:
Sylvia was proud of the polite way her young children demeaned themselves in front of the dinner guests.

Did you know?
There are two words spelled "demean" in English. The more familiar "demean" -- "to lower in character, status, or reputation" -- comes straight from "mean," the adjective that means "spiteful." Today's featured word, on the other hand, comes from the Anglo-French verb "demener" ("to conduct"), which in turn comes from Latin "minare," meaning "to drive." This verb has been with us since the 14th century and is generally used in contexts specifying a type of behavior: "he demeaned himself in a most unfriendly manner"; "she demeaned herself as befitting her station in life"; "they knew not how to demean themselves in the king's presence." As you may have already guessed, the noun "demeanor," meaning "behavior," comes from this "demean."

Acceptance....

By Vichara


The losses that we feel are only the places that are created so we can be open to receive something new. And regardless what this “new” is, it will be brought forth to accompany the changes that are part of your natural growth. Everything is impermanent, as I have often sited in this forum and is the foundation of the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism. 1) Because of this impermanence, all existence in all possible forms is suffering. 2) The root of our suffering comes from desires and cravings for permanence. 3) Suffering can be eliminated by ceasing the need for cravings and permanence and 4) the truth that leads to the end of suffering is contained in the Eight Fold Path…more on that some other day. Whatever slips away, dissipates or abruptly ends today is part of the natural process and is best to meet this not with indifference, but with acceptance and equanimity.

philoprogenitive • \fill-uh-proh-JEN-uh-tiv\ • adjective
1 : tending to produce offspring : prolific
2 : of, relating to, or characterized by love of offspring

Example Sentence:
"As the multitudes born in the philoprogenitive years following World War II leave the labor force after 2010, the retired population will mushroom." (A.F. Ehrbar, Fortune, August 1980)

Did you know?
"Philoprogenitive" (a combination of "phil-," meaning "loving" or "having an affinity for," and Latin "progenitus," meaning "begot" or "begotten") can refer to the production of offspring or to the loving of them. Nineteenth-century phrenologists used the word to designate the "bump" or "organ" of the brain believed to be the seat of a parent's instinctual love for his or her children. Despite the word's scientific look and sound, however, it appears, albeit not very frequently, in all types of writing -- technical, literary, informal, and otherwise.

Escapism...

By Vichara


Escapism is subjective. One man’s heaven can be another man’s hell. By various means we can try to alleviate the turmoil that can sometimes spin out of control around us. For every person there is a means and a way, drugs, alcohol, sex, spending, sports, gambling, etc. These are but a few means at our disposal. For every degree of turmoil, there is perceived to be a degree of escapism that can soothe or temper what is invading our lives. There is no invasion, there is no personal attack, there is no vindictive cause, it is just “life” unfolding in all it’s colorful majesty. It is not escapism that will change things; it is equanimity in your acceptance of these events that will quell the storm clouds. Not a resigned acceptance but one of pragmatism and resolve to see things as they are and accept the answers and solutions no matter what they are.

jingoism • \JING-goh-is-uhm\ • noun
: extreme chauvinism or nationalism marked especially by a belligerent foreign policy

Example Sentence:
Albert Einstein was a pacifist who found German jingoism, with its ultra-nationalistic ideology and militaristic policy, so objectionable that he left his homeland in 1933, never to return.

Did you know?
"Jingoism" originated during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, when many British citizens were hostile toward Russia and felt Britain should intervene in the conflict. Supporters of the cause expressed their sentiments in a music-hall ditty with this refrain:
"We don't want to fight, yet by jingo if we do,
We've got the ships, we've got the men,
We've got the money, too!"
Someone holding the attitude implied in the song became known as a "jingo" or "jingoist," and the attitude itself was dubbed "jingoism." The "jingo" in the tune is probably a euphemism for "Jesus."

Koan #6...

By Vichara


Whatta know, whatta say it’s Koan Mon-day! “The wise don’t strive to arrive” We all remember or have heard kids on a road trip repeativly asking thie parents “are we there yet?, are we there yet?, when are we going to get there?” All said with this aching tone that grates the nerves of the person behind the wheel. For many of us we are now both the “kid” with the repetitious requests and the person behind the wheel “driving” this life. We see what others may posess or achieved and we try to get the same, rushing forward at a frenetic pace. What we tend to lose sight of is…the journey that we are on. While obsessing about getting “there” you will miss out on “here” and all that is around “now”. You may never get what the other person has but what you do have that is completely yours, is the “your” journey with all the sights along the way. Don’t miss out on any of them.

daymare • \DAY-mair\ • noun
: a nightmarish fantasy experienced while awake

Example Sentence:
Through therapy, the patient has begun to experience some relief from the daymares she's been having since the traumatic event.

Did you know?
Long ago, the word "nightmare" designated an evil spirit that made its victims feel like they were suffocating in their sleep (prompting physician-botanist William Turner to introduce "a good remedy agaynst the stranglyng of the nyght mare" in 1562). By the early 1700s, the Age of Reason had arrived, nightmares were bad dreams, and "daymare" was a logically analogous choice when English speakers sought a word for a frightening and uncontrollable fantasy, a run-away daydream. And since the 1800s, when Charles Dickens wrote "a monstrous load that I was obliged to bear, a daymare that there was no possibility of breaking in, a weight that brooded on my wits" in David Copperfield, we’ve been using "daymare" figuratively. For example, today we might refer to "a logistical daymare."