Is Pope Francis Uh-Mazing? Apparently Only Halfway…

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amazing, CBS News, epidemic, grammar, Huffington Post, humor, miracle, overused words, Pope Francis, Wal-Mart

I was buoyed today by Peg at Peg O’Leg’s Ramblings. In honor of tax day, she reposted an earlier musing. With her Me No Like-y Tax, she says, “each time the word ‘like’ is used, except to express a preference or to compare things, it will be taxed.”

Being a writer and a bit of a grammar freak, I’m all for it. I once snatched a marker from my daughter’s purse in the middle of Wal-Mart so I could correct a glaring apostrophe lapse on one of their signs. Emily abandoned me in the toothpaste aisle, my marker thrust toward the lights in triumph, but I felt, I knew it was my sworn duty to uphold the standard in this Apostrophe-Challenged World. After all, it’s not the first time I’ve caught Wal-Mart flubbing one of their signs.

But because apostrophe errors are widespread, I had to chill – my self-imposed burden became too much to carry alone. It was easier to let that one go and pick a new battle. Mostly.

Enter AMAZING. Misused apostrophes are now a mosquito bite on the scene compared to this pervasive, overused adjective.

Dictionary.com‘s definition of amazing is “to overwhelm with surprise or sudden wonder; astonish greatly.”

I was driving along the other day when I heard a radio ad for The Mineshaft Restaurant outside Milwaukee. Hmmm, I thought. Wonder if this place is worth the drive? After the radio announcer called it “The amazing Mineshaft” at least four times during the 30-second commercial, I decided I just couldn’t go there.

Not because the food isn’t good – I’m sure it is. I’m sure the wait staff is efficient and the place is clean. But when the waiter puts your meal in front of you, will you be speechless because of the astonishing way the pasta has been arranged on the plate? Will the pie bring you to tears? Probably not.

Others are noticing this amazing epidemic. The Huffington Post jumped on the bandwagon, and CBS News went so far as to suggest that amazing be banished. There’s even a Facebook page dedicated to Overuse of the Word Amazing.

The other night I was watching Steven and Chris on CBC. They’re engaging and fun, making fashion and food appealing and enjoyable. Their style consultant dressed her models in spunky spring fashions, then went on to call many of the ensembles amazing. She even called some of them uh-mazing.

The only truly uh-mazing thing I’ve heard lately is when Pope Francis kissed a relic holding the dried blood of St. Gennaro, turning part of the blood to liquid. And the poor guy only got credit for a half-miracle, because not all the blood liquefied. Apparently he didn’t kiss hard enough. Bummer.

So I’m with you, Peg – it’s gotta stop. Not sure if taxing is the answer, but I’ll keep my marker ready just in case…

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Is This Really What Success Feels Like?

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Arianna Huffington, career, elderly, giving, Huffington Post, John Burroughs, joy, naturalist, news, success

Huffington Post

I just finished reading Thrive by Arianna Huffington. You might recognize her as the cofounder of The Huffington Post, the online news aggregator, but I was curious to see how Huffington would come across as an author. In Thrive, Huffington says “more and more people are coming to realize (that) there is far more to living a truly successful life than just earning a bigger salary and capturing a corner office.”

She sets out a new definition of success, guided by four “legs,” including well-being, wisdom, wonder and giving. On page 232 of the “Giving” section, Huffington urges us not to miss the small opportunities that abound every day:

“Because however successful we are,” she writes, “when we go out into the world to ‘get things,’ when we strive to achieve a goal, we are operating from a perceived deficit, focused on what we don’t have and are trying to obtain – until the next goal is achieved. And then we go after the next goal. But when we give however little or much we have, we are tapping into our sense of abundance and overflow.”

Intriguing, isn’t it? We want “abundance and overflow,” but pursuing them in the traditional sense isn’t working. Goals are important, but if the goal is only to complete it and move on to the next one, how fulfilled can we become? Life then becomes a lengthy to-do list, rolled up tightly, to be unwound at a frantic pace that leaves us worn and unsatisfied.

Huffington urges us to give, not from a sense of obligation, but because giving “is the only way to counteract the excessive greed and narcissism that surrounds us.”

John Burroughs

She quotes the 19th-century naturalist John Burroughs, who said “The great opportunity is where you are. Do not despise your own place and hour. Every place is under the stars, every place is the center of the world.”

For the last few weeks, I’ve had the privilege of helping an elderly neighbor. I stop by in the morning and again in the evening to prepare meals, keep her company and do light housework. Her pace has slowed mine. At 92 years old, she’s not concerned with amassing money or furthering her career; rather, her joys come from the beauty of our summer days and the visits, every evening, of a wild turkey to her country yard. Blessings are abundant in her life, and she never fails to rejoice whenever they appear.

How has giving helped you? How can you find joy in small, simple things?