Last Christmas, a friend wrapped up and gave me a really old copy of Crabb's English Synonyms. I'm talking really old. Like practically falling apart and the binding's coming off old. Despite the condition of the book, it was one of the sweetest gifts I've ever gotten. This friend has indulged in numerous conversations with me about our mutual love of language and the history of words in general: where they come from, their roots, the languages that share similar sounding words. When I opened the package, I was really touched. It was a simple gesture, but heartfelt: she knew I would know why she gave it to me. Today I let fall open my copy of Crabb's English Synonyms and this is the word I found: GLORY.
Hmmm, how interesting. In this world of manufactured personas and social networking, blogs, non-stop advertising, everything web-enabled, tweets and self-promoting facebook fan pages {all of which I indulge in just like everyone else}, it's somehow telling that 'glory' would be the first word I would stumble upon. We all just want recognition, I guess, to be seen and heard, appreciated for our efforts. Maybe allowed to make others happy. Patted on the back for doing something well. But at some point do personal creative endeavors, accomplishments, thoughts, feelings, musing become less special because they are so easily shared - with a few thousand of our closest friends, rather than those that care the most about who we are personally? Like a friend who would give you an old, dog-eared copy of Crabb's English Synonyms for Christmas? Well. I digress. You can draw your own conclusions. I'm just the messenger.
