Namaste

At the end of yoga classes, the teacher typically puts his/her hands in prayer pose, bows to the class and says, "Namaste." It's a Sanskrit word that loosely translates to "The divine in me honors the divine in you." The students reciprocate the bow and sentiment.

It is a beautiful practice and reminder that God lies within each of us.

Last weekend, I was reading a book entitled Soul Prints written by Rabbi Marc Gafni that I grabbed from the free, discard shelves at our library. In this book, he states that "shalom" not only means "peace" but also in the Kabbalistic understanding of language conveys a wider intent--specifically, "The divine point within me greets the divine point within you." Wow. Really?

Early the same evening, after reading that point, and pondering its significance, I attended Catholic mass and couldn't help but notice the similarities. The priest says "The Lord be with you" and we respond "And also with you." Sometimes it's more elaborate (e.g., "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all") but the response is the same, "And also with you."

Later, the priest states, "The peace of the Lord be with you always" and again we say, "And also with you." We then offer each other a sign of peace by shaking hands with everyone around us and saying to one another, "Peace be with you." Every week, bar none, this simple gesture reminds me of my grandpa Jack who always turned to us and said, "Shalom."

What an honor, right? To acknowledge the divine peace and presence in the family, friends and strangers among us. Although I've been performing this act my entire life, until last weekend, I had never fully appreciated the beauty.

Namaste.

Or, as the great spiritual leader Obi-Wan Kenobi once said, "May the force be with you."

On Language

When we were little, my brother Markie sat at the end of the kitchen table during dinner underneath the rotary phone that was mounted on the wall. Almost nightly the phone would ring, it would be for him (most likely a call from Dave next door), Mark would answer and respond, "Reetin."

Definition: I can't talk with you right now, we're eating.

Today, Son #2 is filled with such linguistic slurrings such as "Q," "Shy" and "Ki."

Definition of Q: A request being made of my time/attention/money
Usage: Q play basketball with me? Q buy this book for me?

Definition of shy: A request for assistance in reasoning
Usage: Shy go ride my bike? What shy do?

Definition of Ki: A request for permission
Usage: Ki have a sleepover? Ki go to the playground with Connor?

I've also been noticing lately that my coworker Jennifer truncates the "g" off most of her words: workin, eatin, sleepin. And my boss says comp'ny.

What do I do? Apparently, when I don't hear someone fully, instead of asking him/her to restate it politely as in, "pardon?" I ask, "Hey?" Drives the hubby crazy! You should try it sometime.

Stop Disencouraging Me

Last year, Son #2's teacher and her third grade class were the nationwide Scholastic Book Grand Prize winners in the non-fiction category for a book they wrote and illustrated, Rejoice! Poetry Celebrating Life in the Amazon Rainforest.

As such, Son #2 is convinced his class will win it again this year.

Son #2: When we win, will you buy the book for me?

Me: Absolutely, but keep in mind, Mrs. Kwit's class won last year. Winning two years in a row may be unheard of.

Son #2: Mama, you're being very disencouraging.

I love it when he coins a new word! More importantly, I love it when he teaches me a lesson. I need to be less disencouraging and possibly more reencouraging.

Always look on the bright side of life.

Me Talk Pretty Today!

Whenever I make a mistake in this blog, my brother seems to find it. Yet according to this quiz, I'm an English Genius.

Go figure. Sure beats being an evil genius (I think).

Effen Demographics

Lately, when driving back to the office from one of my clients, I keep passing a boarded up store on Lyell Avenue that was once called Effen Haute.

On a city street that's known for prostitution and violence, the name smacks of ghetto couture.

Damn girl, that dress is effen haute!

They must have gone out of business because the neighborhood couldn't support as much Jean Paul Gaultier as the owner originally forecast . . .

It's an effen shame.

Language Arts

Son #1 wanted to play his Nintendo on the way to the pool today.

Me: You don't have time -- the pool is only two feet from our house.

Son #1: Mama, two feet is still the driveway. I prefer it when you speak more literally.

Later, we went to Target to buy army men and other things for his birthday party goody bags. As we left, it began to pour.

Son #1: Will you go get the car and bring it to me? I don't want my gifts to get soiled.

Twice today I thought: where does he get his command of the English language? People, much less kids, don't speak like this, do they? Third grade must really be paying off.

Bedtime

Moments ago, I asked Son #2, who was looking very groggy on the couch, "Monkey, are you sleepy?"

He responded, "You haven't heard the last of me."

Nothing is standard issue in this house.

Our Bon Vivant

Son #2 has been wearing his new robe from Target so much that we've begun calling him "Hef."


In return, in his typical style, he's been unexpectedly peppering us with unique colloquialisms as only a seven year old can deliver. "What the hef are you doing?" or "Hey, what the hef is going on around here?"

William Safire would be proud. As would Hef methinks.

Ataraxis Out

My friend Peter just hooked me up with Visual Thesaurus which "creates word maps that blossom with meanings and branch to related words." If you glide your cursor over the synonym hub, a short definition will appear; if you click, the map will regenerate around your new selection.

More fun for nerds!



I chose "peace" for today because I need it -- as I attempt to find serenity amidst chaos. And I like the image because it looks like someone who is successfully balancing on one leg while her hands are full and ideas are springing from her head yet she has peace in her heart.

Clearly not a self-portrait at this point in time but perhaps an aspirational vision!