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Assume

Assume: (v) to suppose to be the case, without proofdictionary with letter A

I guess it is demanded of me that I tip my hat or give hommage to the classic joke that the word assume makes an “ass” out of “u” and “me.”

That fulfilled, though certainly not being righteous, I will tell you that “assume” is a word which is normally used by human beings until we get caught.

We expect things of people. We assume.

If they go buy an ice cream cone and we are in the car with them, we assume they will buy one for us. So great is this assumption that if they don’t, we feel the complete right to be offended, even though we never asked them to offer us an equal portion.

Assuming is part of life. There are some good things we assume:

  • We assume someone should say “thank you” when we give them a gift.
  • We assume that holding the door open for another human being should be common practice instead of the chivalry of a knight.
  • We assume that people will be faithful.
  • We even assume that God loves us, and that He is going to take us all to heaven someday.

So where does assumption go awry?

Whenever we assume things that are essential, and should not bet they should not be left to chance, we open the door to a disappointment of our own making, which we will certainly blame on others.

I venture to say that a majority of the misunderstandings between human beings is based on the fact that someone assumed something would happen, and when it did not, the offending party was viewed as an insufferable Cretin.

On the other hand, the party deemed to be the offender feels completely innocent because he or she was unaware of the need to perform any particular task.

There’s an old adage which says “you don’t have because you don’t ask.”

Yet asking can be very frightening.

So I guess the lesson about assuming is that we should work on being less afraid–otherwise, be prepared to go without… because we assume too much without making a formal request.

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Thank you for enjoying Words from Dic(tionary) —  J.R. Practix

Accumulate

by J. R. Practix

dictionary with letter A

Accumulate: (v.) to gather together or acquire an increasing number or quantity

It all comes down to what you’re gathering together.  In my mind, accumulation is associated with rain or snow. I guess one could accumulate great wealth.

But we rarely talk about accumulating intangibles. For instance, we don’t accumulate friends. We don’t really accumulate a sense of well-being.

Too bad. It’s not so much that the best things in life are free–it’s just that when we finally work our tails off to earn the things we think are best, we’re too exhausted to enjoy them.

So it’s really smart to accumulate things that don’t take a whole lot of effort, but instead, have a great pay-off. Matter of fact, it might be fun to tie a number to them. In other words:

  • Getting an ice cream cone at Burger King for fifty cents is a 3 in effort and a 10 in accumulation.
  • Working 40 hours a week at my job is a 10 in effort and a 3 in accumulation.
  • Sitting through a church service?? Well, that’s a toughie. I’m afraid that often it’s a 9 in effort and a 2 in accumulation.
  • Listening to a politician tout his or her programs–well, I think you get the idea.

We have found the secret to life, have we not? So how can I invest my daily bread of energy effectively to accumulate the better mixture of tangible holdings and intangible blessing? Quite frankly, we become grumpy if we have to work too hard to get so little.

You have to admire the heavens, which simply open up the clouds and dump whatever is available–hot OR cold. They don’t apologize or put forth extreme, strenuous effort. They just rain. They just snow. But in the meantime, we receive accumulation.

That’s what I want to be. Without coming across too weird or ethereal, if I could just be a cloud that floats along until it’s my time to dump my precipitation and then relax and let it flow–I would be happy.

Human life is too often spent determining what we want to do, fussing about it, arguing over it and planning it–only to be disappointed in the end at the turn-out. What if we flipped it? What if we put LESS effort in an attempt to get more results?

For when it’s all said and done, people will look back on our time of occupying terra firma and said, “What did they accumulate?”

If we make it look easy, we might encourage somebody to do more–instead of scaring them away from excellence.

Abracadabra

by J. R. Practix

dictionary with letter A

Abracadabra: (exclam.) a word said by magicians when performing a magic trick.

You see, it’s right there in the definition. Almost every time you see the word “magic,” it’s followed by “trick.”

It’s amazing that we spend most of our lives looking at our talent, our circumstances and our potentials, hoping to wave a magic wand over them and say “abracadabra.” Then for some reason, we’re disappointed and even angry when the rabbit doesn’t leap out of the hat.

Is there magic? Or is it all just a trick? Is magic the best way to manipulate people into doing what you want them to do–or worse–doing nothing?

I remember it a little differently. Does anybody else remember, “Abracadabra, please and thank you?” I’m thinking maybe I heard it on Captain Kangaroo. I like that.

So when “abracadabra” stalls,  you move on to “please.”

Yes, sometimes it’s a good idea to abandon magic in favor of manners. Truthfully, you can get a lot further being mannerly than you can by waving a wand in the air, demanding your will. I would not decry the validity of some forms of magic, but honestly, I’ve botten much more accomplished in my life by saying “please.”

If you happen to be so talented, gifted, powerful and wealthy that you don’t ever have to ask “please,” you will end up counting your money alone in a room on Christmas Eve, waiting to be spooked by three ghosts.

Magic is interesting, but manners are powerful.

Which leads to the final part of the phrase: thank you.

Yes, as wonderful as manners may be and as much as they may bring good fortune your way, nothing is more magical and supernatural than thank you. “Thank you” is permission for life to give you more, without fear of wasting it. If I were God, I would certainly be more generous to those who knew how to compose a thank-you note.

“Thank you” is the key that unlocks every crusty heart that has given up on humanity and has decided that life is futile. Even when it’s coerced out of a little kid slurping on an ice cream cone that was just given to him by a mother who is trying to teach the value of appreciation, it still is endearing and cute as he lifts up his little head, and through globs of gooey cream, mouths, “Thwank woo.”

It makes you want to give him another cone.

So you can pursue the magic of “abracadabra,” but it’s not nearly as good as the majesty of “please.” And as magnificent as the mannerly “please” may be, there is NOTHING as powerful as “thank you.”

Of course, you can cover all your bases, and say, “Abracadabra, please and thank you.”