Category Archives: B words

By-product

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By-product (n) a secondary product made in the manufacture or synthesis of something else

The Good Book calls it “the fruit of the Spirit.”

That was back when people saw fruit growing on trees or bushes. They understood fruit was the by-product of planting, a process and a passage of time.

They comprehended that Spirit would come into a situation, and the evidence of that blessing would be the by-product of fruit.

But now we call our fruit “produce” and buy it at the market.

We now approach our humanity much the same way. If we can’t pick it up quickly, buy it over the counter or assume that we already have it, we are too impatient to wait for something of the Spirit to grow to a point that it creates a by-product.

And even though the Good Book lists many things, it refers to all of them as a single fruit. It’s a lesson–that beautiful teaching that comes our way, informing us that you can’t have one without the other.

Some groups want to be loving but not joyful.

There are other organizations that will talk to you about the joy of gathering, but they find no peace.

Of course, there are peacemakers who have absolutely no patience for waiting at the bargaining table.

Is it possible to insist you are patient without expressing kindness?

Or does kindness ever fail to manifest goodness?

There are human beings who will tell you they can be good without ever being faithful.

I heard someone tell me they had faith, but felt no gentleness toward mankind.

And of course, there are many of us who think we’re gentle or forgiving, but we have no self-control.

When the by-product is born from the true Spirit, the love makes you joyful. That burst of joy makes you perpetuate peace. Realizing you’re dealing with human beings, you bring along buckets of patience plus the wisdom to know that greasing the wheel with an abundance of kindness is never a bad idea. Goodness arrives, and it’s so good that we actually decide to be faithful to it at all costs.

Then we get a surprise.

Being faithful makes us less nervous. We become gentle. And when gentleness settles in, we don’t feel the need to be erratic and out of control.

There are by-products.

There is living proof that the Spirit is at work inside a human being. When the Spirit is absent, you may see lots of trying, but the only by-product is aggravation.

 

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By-pass

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By-pass (n) a road passing around a town

I’ve driven through Los Angeles about a half a dozen times.

Every town has unique traffic hazards.

For instance, Chicago has so many lanes and so much foul weather that you feel you’re in a congested arena of bumper cars.

San Francisco doesn’t have enough land for the number of cars that want to make their way up the coast.

Atlanta is filled with people who like to stop and gaze at traffic accidents, therefore creating jams which don’t seem to have a point of origin, but are endless anyway.

But Los Angeles is unique. They seem to always be working on parts of the freeway, or there are guest dignitaries who are blocking off segments of the road–so there is always a detour or a by-pass.

One day I was driving on the 405 when all the cars suddenly began to exit to honor a detour. We ended up going through the residential district of one of the poorer areas of town. For a while, there were signs encouraging me to pursue. But then, all at once, I realized there were no signs and no more freeway traffic to follow–just me, driving around haplessly, staring at unfamiliar surroundings.

I realized I was lost. I pulled over and asked a gentleman where the by-pass was to take me back to my destination. He laughed and said, “That’s about seven miles back, on this street.”

I frowned. “Well, I didn’t see any signs taking me there.”

He then roared with laughter. “Signs? Well, the kids in the neighborhood love to steal those signs. They put ’em in their rooms to decorate their homes. You can’t follow the signs. You need to follow the guy in front of you, who looks like he lives here and knows where to turn.”

I had not done that.

I was looking for a by-pass with signage.

What I ended up with was a by-pass which required you to be led of the Spirit.

 

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By-line

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By-line: (n) a printed line of text accompanying a news story

During a season when I was writing some screenplays for small, independent films, I realized it was necessary to come up with a “crafty” title, which was then coyly explained through a by-line.

Without the by-line, the title might appear to be obtuse or inaccessible. Of course, the by-line doesn’t give away the plot, but it does let you know what adventures lie ahead.

Many parts of our society should have clever titles, but also an informative by-line. Without the by-line, the name of the company, the idea, the movie or the business can often be clumped with other unremarkable but similar endeavors.

Case in point–“hamburger joint” is not a name, but rather, a condescending attitude about the lack of originality in fast food. So McDonald’s not only offers a signature, but also tells you how many billions they have served. Burger King wants you to know you can ‘have it your way.” And Wendy’s advertises square burgers.

But think about it: since the words “liberal, conservative, Republican, Democrat, Christian” and even “American” do not immediately evoke a common understanding, it becomes necessary to introduce a by-line. For instance:

Liberal: we give a damn about people.

Conservative: we want to keep the government out of your everything.

Republican: we believe the people should have freedom–all of them.

Democrat: we believe it’s up to the people who have much to give much.

Christian: you know…Jesus.

American: I love my country as long as my country is loving.

We need a by-line.

Just the other day, somebody asked me if anyone ever calls me a fat person. I replied, “They sure do. But I always give them my by-line: Fat but still gettin’ around, not complaining and trying to make the world a better place.”

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By-gone

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Bygone: (adj) belonging to an earlier time.

Outdated.

It’s a word we use to curse any idea, event or style which is not presently considered in the prowl.

In the process, we not only decide that red is the color of the future and blue the hue of the past, but we also marginalize supernal attributes which should endure for all time, but suddenly find themselves being panned by the critics.

Some things do not belong in a by-gone era, but must be toted to our next location. I shall give you a few words that seem to be nostalgic, but are really the sign-posts of peaceful existence:

Kindness, observation, toleration, good cheer, gentleness, surprise, humility, creativity, curiosity, manners, courtly, caring, teachable, sharing, color-blind, contented.

Idealism? Most definitely.

Yet without them, virtue is gobbled by the arrogant monster of pessimism.

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Bye

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Bye: (n) the transfer of a competitor directly to the next round of a competition in the absence of an assigned opponent

I’m going to take a bye on some things:

  • False praise
  • Political arrogance
  • Religious inflexibility
  • Self-pity
  • Pseudo-intellectualism
  • Pop atheism
  • Self-satisfaction
  • Culture pursuit
  • Racial pride
  • Nationalism
  • Stinginess
  • Gender bashing
  • Nosiness
  • Conservative
  • Liberal
  • Fantasy
  • Destiny
  • Self-gratification
  • Critique
  • Meditation
  • Maturity
  • Selfishness
  • Selfies
  • Self-righteousness
  • Self-almost-anything

I’m taking a bye.

Good-bye.

 

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By

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By: (prep) identifying the agent performing an action.

If you want success to radiate around your efforts, you have to discover what makes things work best.

Finding out by what means peace of mind and joy are enacted is probably the most important pearl we can recover.

This happened to me the day I accepted the idea that faith works by love.

A loveless faith is just a braggart spirit–a person filled with presumption who decides to make bold statements, hoping that eventually he or she will luck into achieving them.

By the same token, love that does not prompt us to expand our faith becomes cloistered and sappy.

What are some other possibilities? What additional “teams” can be brought together for righteousness?

Politics works by truth. Wow.

Marriage works by communication. Certainly.

Good health works by good eating. Not medication.

Prosperity works by labor. (After all, you even have to buy a lottery ticket.)

And human appeal works by good cheer. Everyone loves the funny guy or gal.

Finding out by what means things are achieved is the actual definition of genius.

 

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Buzzword

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Buzzword: (n) fashionable jargon

We must never grow weary in the pursuit of changing the world. Yet the process by which we try to rejuvenate needs to be carefully analyzed.

The most difficult thing to do is to revise people’s habits. You might as well just give up on that one.They are in charge of them, and still find change nearly impossible.

Likewise, you will also fail if you try to alter people’s minds.

And if you look for a revival in the soul, they will tell you immediately if they’ve already arrived at their religion, or if they’re just not fond of spirit.

Sometimes you can change the heart. This can be done by the introduction of emotion, which cleans out the valves.

But I can tell you , if you want to change the world, the most intelligent thing is to introduce good words.

Yes. Create fresh buzzwords.

In a climate where misinformation, fake news, reality TV and cultural differences are being bandied about, leaving us at constant odds with each other, just casually introducing buzzwords of energy and virtue can make a difference.

Let’s welcome back some great standards:

How about passion?

Here’s a good one: brotherhood.

One of my favorites: gentleness

And of course, there is that glorious buzzword phrase of “love your neighbor as yourself.”

Sometimes if you can get people saying the right things, they might just start feeling a spiritual awakening that makes them think about addressing bad attitudes.

 

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Buzzer

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Buzzer: (n) an electrical device used for signaling.

Technology makes me giggle.

Day by day, we become convinced that the present innovation surpasses any previous revelation. That’s why we have to number our I-phones. If we don’t have the latest, we are completely in the dark–the Stone Age, if you will.

When I was a boy, I attended a church and we had an activity known as Bible League. It was similar to Jeopardy! or the old-fashioned “College Bowl,” where questions are fired at individual members of a team, and if answered correctly, the whole gang is offered a collective clue. Points were scored, egos were inflated, games were won and talent was touted.

Our sponsors brought us a surprise. It was a box with two buttons and two light bulbs, which they had constructed to enable us to “ring in” and light up, so everyone knew who was to answer the question. It even made a little sound, like a broken door bell with a whiny buzz.

I loved that contraption. I was convinced it was the best thing ever invented. I became so adept at using it that I knew exactly when to hit the button in order to interrupt the flow in such a way as to beat my opponent–and also to trap the inquisitor into accidentally saying a few extra words which would give me a sense of the meaning, enabling me to guess how to answer.

I did fine until the buzzer box broke. Turned out the grown-ups knew how to wire the thing but not how to fix it.

So then I was stuck raising my hand to beat out my competitor. This was more easily eyeballed, causing the questioner to stop more quickly.

I got thrashed. I lifted my hand too soon and was left with no idea what the question was, trying to rattle off information from Adam to Zachariah.

But I will never forget my buzzer box. It was my friend.

And like friends occasionally do, it gave out on me in my hour of greatest need.

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Buzzards

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Buzzard: (n) a large hawklike bird of prey

Sometimes I find myself discontent with my status and very fussy about my being.

Even though the more religious souls around me would disagree, I believe the Creator was much better intentioned than adept at design.

You know what I’m saying? Every once in a while, each one of us gets in a mood to buy some watercolors and try to paint a picture. Even though the experience may be pleasant, the results of the painting adventure need to buried in the back yard.

Yet what often causes me to recover from my spiritual swoon is considering how fortunate that I am not another type of creature.

I would despise being a cockroach.

Being a rat living in the sewers of New York City seems uncomfortable.

And I wouldn’t want to be a buzzard. Job description: flying around the sky all day long looking for dead things. Sometimes really, really dead things–so I can eat.

Now, I know that hamburger is just the remaining flesh of a cow, but when you add some ketchup, pickles and onions, it can be quite good.

Buzzards have to land and pick the bones of the dead.

I don’t want to be a buzzard. And I especially don’t want to be an emotional buzzard–flying around looking for the disasters in the lives of others so I can chew the fat with the old birds about their demise.

I don’t like buzzards–but they are part of creation.

So may I say, “Carion, my wayward son.”

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Buzz

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Buzz: (n) a humming sound.

There are two things that have a buzz: bees and things threatening to be broken.

The buzzing of the bee is common, but you can often tell when something is breaking, has a bad cord or is giving up the ghost because it will start emitting a buzz.

So when I hear people discuss the topical stories on any given day, I wonder if it’s based on being busy like the bee, or a sign that something’s “got a short.”

I think when we buzz about how to get along better, escape prejudice and cut each other some slack, we are actually trying to be bees, producing some honey.

But when I hear a constant flow of lamentation, disappointment, aggravation, brattiness and self-righteousness, I realize there’s a brokenness in our thinking which warns that if we don’t fix the connection soon, we’re going to lose our power.

 

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