Category: Word Prompts

Assaying the Gun Culture

by Innermost Being, posted in Word Prompts

via Daily Prompt: Assay

The word assay is not part of my everyday vocabulary; it is usually used in fields related to chemistry like the pharmaceutical or metallurgy industries. To assay something is to analyze its components. On Vocabulary.com, I learned that “when you assay a situation, you look at all the elements that created the problem in order to come up with a solution.” With that definition and the recent mass shooting in Parkland, Florida in mind, I can think of a huge situation in need of assaying: America’s gun culture.

Gun violence is a hot button issue that has long divided this country. On one side are those who believe that the second amendment guarantees the right of all citizens to own any kind of weapon because the amendment says that the right to bear arms shall not be infringed.

However, the second amendment refers to a “well-regulated militia.” Those three words are very important to those of us on the other side of the issue. For the safety and security of all citizens, we believe that there should be sensible restrictions on the ownership of weapons.

I am not writing this short little essay to assay the problem of gun violence myself. I can’t claim that I know all of the elements that created the problem, as some people do. (For example, some people blame the problem on taking God out of schools. The issue is way more complex than that). Since I admittedly haven’t identified all of the elements that created the problem, I won’t pretend to have the solutions to the problem.

Having said that, I will not deny that there is a problem begging for reasoned solutions. Statistics prove otherwise:

So many people die annually from gunfire in the US that the death toll between 1968 and 2011 eclipses all wars ever fought by the country. According to research by Politifact, there were about 1.4 million firearm deaths in that period, compared with 1.2 million US deaths in every conflict from the War of Independence to Iraq.

The scope of the gun violence problem is not limited to school shootings or shootings that are considered “mass shootings.” According to the Brady Campaign to End Gun Violence, nearly two-thirds of deaths from guns are suicides.

I will not put all the blame for the problem on the other side, though I won’t absolve them of blame either. There are reasons that people cling to their guns even if I do not understand their reasons.

I will never stop wanting a solution to the problem of gun violence.

I will never say there is nothing we can do.

I will never stop grieving the senseless loss of life.

I will never blame the problem on the mentally ill.

When you have a huge problem, you need assayers to analyze the problem from all angles. You need problem solvers. You need people who are not afraid to ask questions. You need people who are not beholden to a special interest group. You need people who will not give up until they get the answers.

Dare I hope that the young people of America will assay this problem?

 

Suspicious from A to Z

by Innermost Being, posted in Word Prompts

In response to today’s word prompt, I made a list of suspicious things from A to Z.

  1. Suspicious activity
  2. Suspicious behavior
  3. Suspicious circumstances
  4. Suspicious deaths
  5. Suspicious email
  6. Suspicious fire
  7. Suspicious glare
  8. Suspicious husband
  9. Suspicious incident
  10. Suspicious jealousy
  11. Suspicious kitten
  12. Suspicious lies
  13. Suspicious mind
  14. Suspicious numbers
  15. Suspicious observers
  16. Suspicious package
  17. Suspicious questions
  18. Suspicious reaction
  19. Suspicious sound
  20. Suspicious transaction
  21. Suspicious url address
  22. Suspicious vehicle
  23. Suspicious wife
  24. Suspicious x-ray result
  25. Suspicious You song
  26. Suspicious zodiac signs

There are a lot of suspicious things for a person to be suspicious about. But who exactly is a suspicious person? Is it the person who feels suspicious of someone or something? Or is it a person who engages in suspicious behavior? How can the same adjective apply to both?

via Daily Prompt: Suspicious

Roy G. Biv Lives On

by Innermost Being, posted in Word Prompts

I don’t know a real person with the last name Biv. You probably don’t either. But the name Roy G. Biv has occupied space in my head since I was a kid. I learned this simple mnemonic to remember the colors of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. I’ve known Roy G. Biv for so long, it is hard to remember who introduced us, but I think it was my science teacher, Mr. Rose.

I don’t remember using acronyms to help me memorize any other lists. My husband learned the mnemonic HOMES to remember the names of the great lakes: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior. When he told me the acronym, I was able to name all but one.

I asked my husband if he thought that “I before E except after C” is a mnemonic and he didn’t think so. But it is. A mnemonic does not have to be an acronym, although many of them are. It is just a technique to help you remember something. This particular mnemonic is flawed though because the English language is wierd.

A memory technique that I don’t practice but have read about is called the Method of Loci. If you need to remember a list of items to pick up at the grocery store, you could imagine each item in a room in your house. It sounds like a lot of preparation to me. But when I see a server take the orders of several people around a table without writing anything down, I think they must be using this kind of mnemonic device and I am quite impressed.

Mnemonic devices are kind of cool and I feel kind of cheated that I didn’t learn more of them. There’s still lots of useless information in my head so Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally.

Memory is both fascinating and frustrating. It’s fascinating that I can remember a made-up name from the seventh grade but I won’t remember that I have an appointment unless I write it down.

via Daily Prompt: Mnemonic

I Don’t Insist on Much

by Innermost Being, posted in Word Prompts

I don’t insist on much. I don’t insist on being right. People have a right to disagree with me. Even if I’m absolutely certain the other person is wrong, I’m not interested in engaging in a battle of wills. I don’t insist on having my way because it is not all about me. I’m easy to please and open to compromise. I am willing to give up some of what I want for the good of others. But I absolutely insist on certain things.

I insist on honesty and integrity. Most of us are guilty of telling little white lies. I can forgive people for the occasional lie. But truth matters. And when a person lies continually, it proves that they can’t be trusted. Integrity is an essential part of good character and it is the foundation for good relationships.

I insist on respectfulness. Respect is a two-way street; if you treat people with respect, they are more likely to respond in kind. Respect is treating people the way you want to be treated. I admit that I lose respect for people who behave badly and when a person loses my respect, they have to earn it back. But even if I don’t respect a person, I still believe in treating them with kindness and consideration.

I insist on genuineness. I have always been turned off by people who seem fake, who pretend to be something they are not. A genuine person is real and authentic. A genuine person doesn’t feel the need to impress people with what they have or who they are. You can trust that a genuine person speaks from the heart. Genuine people possess the humility that makes them more relatable and human.

I don’t insist on being first. I don’t insist on sitting at the best table or having my food prepared to order. I don’t insist on having the best things or having everything in perfect order. I do insist on preserving and upholding the values that really matter.

via Daily Prompt: Insist

Simple Ways to Simplify Life

by Innermost Being, posted in Word Prompts

Many of us would love to simplify our lives. There are too many demands on our time – work, family, pets, hobbies, taking care of the home, etc. Even the technology that should make life easier adds to the stress because we receive too much information to easily digest and manage it. We have too much stuff which leads to too much clutter.

When I Googled “simply your life,” there were over 15.7 million hits: 16 ways or 25 easy ways or 21 quick actions and even the 10 most important things to simplify in your life. Obviously, there is no one-size-fits-all way to simplify life. If anyone had the perfect solution, there wouldn’t be so many books and articles about simplifying life.

But I think any plan to simplify life involves three key decisions: what you do with things, how you use your time, and how you interact with people.

So to keep it simple:

  • Set realistic goals
  • Reduce the amount of stuff you have
  • Organize your space and put stuff away
  • Stick to a routine, e.g. get up and go to bed at the same time everyday
  • If you don’t have time, tell people no
  • Remove distractions
  • Disconnect and schedule some quiet time everyday
  • Spend time with the people who really matter

C’est la vie!

 

 

via Daily Prompt: Simplify