Category Archives: A words

Awkward

Awkward: (adj) causing or feeling embarrassment or inconvenience.dictionary with letter A

I suppose I could take the popular position and insist that “I was born this way.” I would receive empathy and maybe even support from those who would agree with my assertion or share my dilemma.

I cannot remember a time in my life when I was not fat.

Yet I have to tell you that taking personal responsibility for it and realizing that even if my body has a predilection towards obesity, that I can discourage its wishes, is powerful.

The truth is, being fat is not only unhealthy, it’s a constant burden placed on your torso, lending itself to many an awkward situation.

  • As a child I ran and played but not without wheezing.
  • I wasn’t fast enough to get to first base on a hit called a single. For me to get to first base, I had to hit a double.
  • I’ve never been comfortable with my clothes off.
  • Generally speaking, I made sure that every place I was seated would be wide enough or hold my weight.
  • When rejected by a girl, I needed to question whether it was because of my blabber or my blubber.
  • Until I was twenty-five years old I never wore a pair of shorts in public. Much too awkward.
  • Until I was forty years old, I refused to get into a swimming pool until everybody around had turned their heads and were involved in some other activity.
  • And today, because I have led an active life, my knees are worn out, causing me to use a wheelchair to handle long distances.

It’s awkward.

I’ve never been able to sustain myself on my visuals only, but have had to rely on my emotions, spirit and mind to compensate for my body.

Now, before you go to weeping or preparing a lecture about my eating habits, let me tell you that I’ve already cried enough tears and pursued enough diets.

Now I try to eat as healthy as I possibly can, exercise to my capability and realize that awkward does not need to be a nasty situation.

Actually, awkward gives us enough vulnerability that people understand our humanity instead of resenting our perfection.

 

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Awhile

Awhile: (adv) for a short time.dictionary with letter A

“It’s been awhile.”

Yes, it’s been awhile since:

  • People said please and thank-you without being threatened.
  • It was a foregone conclusion that we would let our neighbor into the flow of traffic.
  • A casserole was delivered to the sick friend instead of just a get-well card.
  • A compliment was provided without fear of losing one’s own status.

Yes, it’s been awhile since:

  • A Republican and a Democrat found that they were both American.
  • Church was a fueling station for our heart and soul instead of an exaggerated platform for spiritual superiority.

It’s been awhile since:

  • Men and women have counted the cost and realized how valuable they are to one another.
  • The death of a human being was considered the tragedy that God views it to be.

It’s been awhile since:

  • We’ve lifted our noses out of our electronics to find a human connection of equal power.
  • We’ve come together as a nation to believe that we are both blessed and needing to be more responsible.

It’s been awhile.

But the great hope in my heart is that what seems to have become outdated is often forgotten and later rediscovered, as if a new generation invented the idea.

 

 

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Awe

Awe: (n) a feeling of reverential respect mixed with fear or wonder.dictionary with letter A

I was trying to figure out if there are two words that are more diametrically opposed to one another while still possessing the same root as “awesome” and “awful.”

How could they both have the word “awe” in them? I guess it’s because things that are worthy of awe are not always pleasant.

I remember the first time I ever saw the simulation of a nuclear explosion. It certainly generated awe. Matter of fact, it was full of it. Thus, awful.

And then, on occasion, sometimes a beautiful experience will dribble across my path and pause my busy mind with a stilled sense of awe. Sometimes awe–therefore, awesome.

Whatever the conclusion, it is important for each and every one of us to maintain enough childlike quality that we can be impressed. Perhaps one of my greatest pet peeves is when I find myself in the presence of something that requires a sense of awe and someone next to me explains that “it’s nothing special; they’ve seen it a hundred times before.”

This is why I know that well-read people are not necessarily more intelligent–unless they’re affected by what the books say.

Well traveled people are not more open-minded unless they’ve learned to include others.

And experienced individuals don’t carry a sense of greatness unless they can come into the presence of something truly beautiful… and still be in awe.

 

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Away

Away: (adv) at a distance from a particular place, person, or thing.

Life is all about getting ahead of the problem.dictionary with letter A

It really is. Even when people inform me that they were in an accident or were surprised by a dilemma, as I sit and listen to them talk, I realize there were several signposts along the way, telling them of pending difficulty.

Is it our sense of optimism or our laziness that keeps us from heeding the calls which forewarn of misfortune? Because after all–or maybe during all–it’s about discovering when to be close and when to be away.

And when it comes to the status of away, it is much better to go away than it is to be told to stay away.

You will get warnings when it seems that your involvement is no longer beneficial, and if you can quietly bow out and move on to the next possibility, you will never have to feel the embarrassment of banishment.

But the reason we fight is because we don’t know when to go away and we wait for someone else to tell us to stay away.

This has speckled my existence with annoying bouts of insecurity, because I experienced rejection instead of merely stepping into the shadows, on to the next possibility around the corner.

How can we know when it’s time to be away?

  1. We are no longer edifying the situation.
  2. We are taken for granted
  3. People have to be free–and in this case, that means free of us

There’s a tremendous blessing in finding yourself away from circumstances which have left you stagnant. It can be uncomfortable; it can be sad.

But in the long run, it is the pruning of our tree that allows us to grow new branches.

 

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Awash

Awash: (adj) containing large numbers or amounts of someone or something.dictionary with letter A

The debate about good and evil is both good and bad:

  • Good in the sense that we might actually begin to differentiate between things that work and things that don’t.
  • And certainly bad in the context that we bring out the more picky parts of our human character which make us belligerent instead of benevolent.

But I think it’s impossible to understand good until you realize that evil is simply stupidity that demands respect.

If we actually had the intelligence to declare our failures stupid, then we could walk away from them and allow them to be memories instead of little pieces of defensive tantrums which we sprout whenever it is suggested that we have failed to be excellent.

Right now our country is awash in stupidity. It is turning into evil because insightful human beings are not able to make fun of the ridiculous nature of the situation without coming across as mean or intolerant.

I guess I should provide you with a definition of stupidity: stupidity is any action or any philosophy that is anti-human.

So even things that we consider to be religious, righteous or patriotic are often just blatantly stupid because they’re contrary to the betterment of mankind.

You will find yourself awash with pressure from the society around you if you try to follow the mob. Since human beings are slightly bent toward self-destruction, they will occasionally come up with ways to snuff themselves while insisting that it’s just an issue of “freedom of choice.”

Be aware. Do not allow yourself to be overwhelmed.

If it seems to be anti-human and it does not increase the generosity of the human spirit but instead makes us self-centered or mean, you might just want to walk away from it.

And if you can’t tell the difference, just make sure you don’t sign too many petitions … that you will have to later explain to your grandchildren.

 

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Aware

Aware: (n) having knowledge or perception of a situation or fact.dictionary with letter A

The reason most folks don’t get along with each other is that they expect other people to be nicer than they are.

We allow ourselves to be angry, frustrated, distant, preoccupied and nasty because we’re fully aware of our storyline.

Yet simultaneously, if someone else would dare to sample from the trough of our drivel, we would be highly critical–if not offended.

I became a much better person when I started allowing myself to be aware that human beings were never meant to be good.

This is why we give awards, medals of honor and trophies to those who occasionallly achieve such status. The rest of the time, the reaction we have to our fellow-travelers ranges from indifference to rolling our eyes in disgust.

Being aware is powerful. Sometimes we are…well, aware of it:

For instance, we will warn any sixteen-year-old child that the best way to be a good driver of a car is to be defensive.

When people stroll through a pasture, we tell them to “look where they walk.”

And when viewing a collection of reptiles, we heed the warnings of the caretakers who tell us to remain alert and keep our distance.

But inside every human being is a sense of self, tied up in knots of worry. To be aware of that knotting is to make you a friend of humankind instead of an enemy.

So unfortunately, the human tribe rarely thinks about God unless we need an answered prayer or confirmation of our righteous superiority.

We don’t think too much about helping out our neighbors unless we see their house floating down the street, propelled by the recent flood.

And we usually fail to let them enter the flow of traffic in front of us, for fear that the next light might turn red before we can pass through.

True spirituality is letting human beings be human, being aware of how that plays out … and still finding reasons to enjoy the good company.

 

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Award

Award: (n) a prize or other mark of recognition given in honor of an achievement.dictionary with letter A

I went through a phase in my life when I would describe myself as “delightfully obnoxious.”

I know that might seem like an oxymoron, but I think in our journey to find great confidence which is balanced with humility, we occasionally veer off the road toward one extreme or another.

I was living in Shreveport, Louisiana, and had teamed up with a couple dozen other folk. We deemed ourselves to be artisans. (Whether we actually were is probably hidden, along with beauty, in the eye of the beholder.)

We busied ourselves with the local cable TV station, making all sorts of videos, little movies and programs to be aired for public consumption on a first-come, first-served basis.

What frustrated the Public Access station was how prolific we were. Matter of fact, one of the managers characterized it as “annoyingly prolific.”

So when it came time for the local awards show, we ended up being nominated in all six categories available. Rather than this being viewed by the provincial committee as a positive, it was instead snubbed as distasteful and overwrought.

This caused us to turn up the level of volume and amplify the arrogance.

On the night of the awards show, every member of our team showed up, hooted and hollered each time our name was mentioned, turning it into a festival of joy instead of the rigorous necessity of compliance to formality that had been envisioned.

Of course, they got even. Of the six categories, we only won a single award. But we didn’t care.

It was a fabulous night of rejoicing, and having some sense of being awarded for the hard work we had put in on the projects.

By no means do I condone our actions or our over-zealous approach.

Yet I will tell you that it is often required for passion to be accelerated to such a level that it shocks apathy into actually feeling something.

 

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Awakening

Awakening: (n) an act or moment of becoming suddenly aware of something.dictionary with letter A

There are minor disruptions to our emotional and spiritual sleepiness, but there is only one Great Awakening.

I know it may be popular to complicate the life journey, making it seem like an unholy maze, but really, the secret to human interaction is so simple that people almost feel the need to complicate it to convince themselves of their intellectual superiority.

This Great Awakening came to me about thirty-five years ago, but I have to constantly revive it and refurbish it every thirty-five minutes. If I don’t, I start believing the lies that infest my heart, which I have condemned, but they still refuse to take their baggage and leave.

  • What is the Great Awakening?
  • What will change the world?

A simple statement: “It’s not just me.”

There you go.

No matter what happens, no matter what situation comes up–whether you’re dealing with nation against nation or husband negotiating with wife–it’s not just me. Other people have feelings, other people have needs, other people want to escape depression.

So whatever issue comes up, rather than espousing some reverent scripture or proclaiming my own prowess or knowledge, I insert the awakening phrase: It’s not just me. Other people have requirements also.

And if I’m going to enjoy certain privileges and blessings, I must be aware that others may also desire completion.

When we’re dealing with Iran, it’s not just us.

When we’re dealing with ISIS, it’s not just us.

Somehow in the midst of our righteous anger, we should muster the righteous wisdom to realize that we are not alone, and therefore cannot act alone.

It’s not just me.

Freedom was not created as my playground with a gate on it to keep you out.

It is the Great Awakening.

It is the answer.

And when I allow myself to realize that it’s not just me, I become both a better person … and a possible friend.

 

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Await

Await: (v) to wait fordictionary with letter A

There is a contingency of humanity which believes that as long as any issue can receive a majority of approval, then that particular subject in question is proven truthful.

What hogwash.

There are times in our history when chasing witches and killing them, owning slaves, beating women and human sacrifice certainly gained a 51% range of acceptance.

It didn’t make it right.

So I become concerned when religious and secular people agree.

I suppose that sounds odd, but it tells me that the subject matter has some sort of copout, because these two worlds don’t normally coincide.

  • In the religious world, it’s called Calvinism–the contention that our lives are predestined and therefore pretty much out of our control.
  • In the secular community, it is blissfully proclaimed to be destiny. “We were born a certain way, therefore we’re committed to be a certain way, and the more we fight it, the more miserable we become.”

But I happen to be of a school of thought that there is a universal truth from which all founts of blessing pour:

It’s called free will. And when you remove free will, you shake your fist at the sky and insist the Earth is flat.

So I make my decisions about life, spirituality and social change based upon free will.

The removal of free will is the institution of stupidity.

The institution of free will is the only way to fight stupidity.

So even though I am not favorable to abortion, I live in a Republic where a woman has a free-will right to decide that for herself.

Even though I don’t understand all the ins and outs of the gay community, I am thoroughly convinced of their free-will authority to pursue their own path.

So when I saw the word “await” today, it reminded me of a common phrase I’ve always found distasteful: “Await your fate.”

If you don’t mind, I shall not do that.

If it turns out that I was destined to be one way or another, then so be it. But my understanding of God and His universe is that He has granted us the power to will and do … thus opening the door to changing our circumstance.

 

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Avow

Avow: (v) to assert or confess openly.

They call it allocution.dictionary with letter A

It is the action demanded of a criminal in a court case when a guilty plea has been accepted and it becomes his or her responsibility to admit to all of the facets and details of the crime.

Even though we demand this from the more sinister members of our society, we do not require it of the common man or woman.

The most popular rendition of denying one’s previous deeds is the apology. I think we all would agree that an apology from a murderer in a courtroom would not only be insufficient, but insulting. And the lack of requiring that people avow their involvement–good or bad–in a situation gives enough wiggle room that we are never quite certain of what is true and what is false.

When truth becomes a bouncing ball, it’s not safe for anyone to play.

Very recently, I have become convinced of the intelligence of coming clean. It’s a three-step process:

  1. I come to myself.

I realize I have done or am doing something unfruitful, perhaps even wrong.

  1. I come to the facts.

I decide what would be an accurate assessment of my situation and how to phrase it in such a way that I could unburden my conscience and clarify my need for repentance.

  1. I come to others.

It simply is not enough for us to be aware of our own frailties. We gain power and position when those around us know we can be trusted because they have heard us be honest about uncomfortable matters.

It is certainly much more popular to disavow–to distance oneself from causes or endeavors that have proven to be detrimental. But the ability to avow one’s involvement, positive or negative, is the trigger for our trust of those we love or those we wish to lead us.

 

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