Tag Archives: renounce

Abjure

by J. R. Practix

dictionary with letter A

Abjure: v. solemnly renounce (a belief, cause or claim): his refusal to abjure the Catholic faith

I was trying to figure out if I’m EVER solemn. I guess my definition for “solemn” would be to give a placid response to any given situation, thus appearing to be in control and without excess emotional baggage.

I don’t see how you can “solemnly renounce.” Isn’t that an oxymoron? “Solemn” means you’re calm and “renounce” requires you to actively reject.

I think I would be really uncomfortable with anyone who would “solemnly” renounce anything. If it’s worth renouncing, it would certainly require raising a few blood pressure points as you walk away in disgust. And if you’re NOT that invested in it–so that you could be solemn–it’s not really renouncing, now, is it? It’s more like choosing not to get another helping of something or other in the great buffet of life.

Maybe that’s the problem in our generation. We want to come across like we’re “solemnly renouncing” things. We want our hot-headed to appear cool.  I believe that particular mixture would make you even out at lukewarm.

Yeah. That pretty well describes things, doesn’ t it? A lukewarm rendition of a once-hot meal that doesn’t even have the benefit of being eaten cold.

I guess I don’t “abjure” much…

If it’s important enough for me to participate in it, I bring my passion–both in favor and in disfavor to the cause. If it requires solemnity, I just usually go to bed and go to sleep.

It’s a funny time, isn’t it? A season in life when we come up with solemn renouncement like we’re proclaiming, “It’s a funny time” instead of being more forthcoming, by calling it “crap.”

 

Abdicate

by J. R. Practix

dictionary with letter AAbdicate: v. renounce one’s throne. 

I decided not to look up the actual names, because if I start being too accurate in my daily writings, I might get mistaken for an educational source or a fountain of knowledge. But memory serves me that some prince in England a long time ago fell in love with a commoner and because he wasn’t allowed to marry her because she . . . I don’t know . . . maybe was common? . . . they made him give up his throne for love.

It’s so silly. First of all, there’s nothing common about love. It’s a rarity–difficult to trap in a bottle and certainly should not be ignored to pursue some “crowning achievement.” And the question I have is this: what kind of dude would he have been if he had passed over the chick to wear the golden hat? I mean, I’m not trying to take away his props, but when you flip things and look at them from the other direction, some of the noble things we say we do are really just you and I, every once in a while, actually being smart and demanding they build a memorial on the site in honor of the special occasion.

So what’s he gonna do? Walk up to his babe and say, “Listen, dear. I just found out how common you are. I had no idea. Perhaps it would have been good of YOU to let me know the lacking you have in rarities. So here’s the scoop. Mum says I can’t have you and still eat caviar with the kings of the earth. You surely understand. We’ve had some good times, and in the future, as I boff my ugly queen of choice, I will remember your face.”

You see what I mean? We often think that we abdicate things we never actually had in the first place or weren’t that big of a deal compared to what we did pursue, which brought both some immediate pleasure and lasting satisfaction.

Just remember–there are two things that are ugly when touted by human beings: being pious and being stupid.

And generally speaking, they arrive in the same car.