EPIPHANY: (noun) an illuminating realization or discovery often resulting in a personal feeling of elation, awe, or wonder  .  a manifestation or appearance of a divine or superhuman being From the popularity of the word epiphany, it appears that  a lot of people are having epiphanies nowadays, but given the meaning of the word, it shouldn’t be used in a glib manner.  What seems to be happening  is what usually occurs with many words that carry a certain aura. One individual who seems to know what he or she is talking about uses a word; it sounds impressive, and, with instant television or the internet to popularize it, the word…

PHOBIA:  (noun) fear  .  dread  .  revulsion  .  obsessive fear  .  horror  .  terror  .  loathing These are dark days in the land. El Paso and Dayton have cast a shadow over the nation, leaving  many people feeling fearful. While I don’t wish to minimize the current situation, I think it’s safe to say that all of us have fears of one kind or another. We’re afraid of something or someone. For instance, I’m afraid of heights, a condition known as acrophobia.  I avoid balconies, and whenever I am on one, I don’t look down.  Some people are afraid of water. This is called hydrophobia.  I don’t know whether they…

FLEXIBLE: (adjective) pliable  .  limber  .  adaptable .  versatile .  tolerant  .  amenable Yesterday I saw the yellow buses plying the roads again, a clear signal of the start of school. Time was when we had to wait  until after Labor Day for school bells to ring following the summer hiatus. Not so nowadays. In the school world, schedules and calendars have been significantly adjusted; the word flexibility has had broad application. There was a time when a college semester lasted 18 weeks, and some misguided college administrators arranged for the completion of the second semester after the Christmas break. Does anyone now living remember that?  The final exams were…

EQUILIBRIUM: (noun) balance . symmetry . equality . evenness There’s a lot of excitement associated with the launch of a new book, and I have been enjoying every minute of the launch of Dark Days on the Fairest Isle.  Launch day was January 31 when the book was made available on Amazon and at Barnes & Noble. I was elated when I received a colorful “Happy Publication Day!” email from the Marketing Department at my publisher. And friends have been very supportive with their telephone calls and congratulations. I know that all of you, my blog readers, will be getting the book. I believe in you.  And when you finish…

ROLLICKING: (adjective) exuberantly lively and amusing . high-spirited . carefree . joyous I bought several books a few days ago. As usual, I started reading as soon as I got home and immediately settled on two, which I am reading alternately. One of them, the British bestseller  Eats, Shoots & Leaves, by Lynne Truss, made me think of our word for this week. The book  is in every way rollicking, “exuberantly lively and amusing.” What  is the book all about? Punctuation. Yes, punctuation.  Author  Lynne Truss has placed this much-abused  and greatly neglected aspect of  the English language on an exalted level—albeit to a committed few, whom the author calls…

CONTENTMENT: (noun) satisfaction . fulfillment . gratification . gladness . happiness . delight With apologies to  William Shakespeare, I venture to  ask, Is this the summer of our discontent? All about us there seems to be  a highly charged atmosphere inhabited by a host of discontented people.   The good feelings associated with contentment–peace, joy, and satisfaction–are noticeably absent. The synonyms given above for the word contentment leave no doubt that having  it  denotes good feelings. Contentment is one of the greatest gifts we can give to ourselves, and by extension, to  the world around us. Admittedly, we have to struggle against the pressures that tend to rob us of a…

It’s a turbulent time on the island. A grandmother has disappeared.  Resisting her parents’ objections to her going back into the violence they had fled to settle in the U.S., Claire Wynter returns to the place of her childhood to help the family members there search for the missing grandmother. Right from the start, Dark Days on the Fairest Isle catapults the reader into a world  of conflict, betrayal, intrigue, and blossoming romance. Sharing the good news, Judith

UNCOMFORTABLE: (adjective) causing discomfort or distress . painful . irritating . uneasy . conscious of stress or strain In popular culture, some words spring up like wild mushrooms after rain.  They proliferate with repeated use and  get a lot of air time, but then they fade out.  Remember “firestorm”? It’s use has waned. “Surreal” has also seen a lot of use over the past few years and is still viable, but it’s not as ever-present as it once was.  “Deal” is a word that rose to popularity about  two years ago.  Now governments don’t negotiate agreements or accords. They make deals. This week’s word, uncomfortable,  like “deal,” is  enjoying its…

The word this week is quotations, but this post is a bit different from the usual pattern, in that there is no definition or commentary on the word.  Quotations are used on  a variety of occasions, perhaps because they can be inspirational, motivational, affirming, or merely humorous. We can learn a lot from the force of a few words. Over the years, I have collected quotations from a variety of sources–books I’ve read, speeches I’ve  heard, professional conferences I’ve attended, sermons I’ve listened to.  Wherever I go, I listen for a good phrase or  a memorable thought, and I usually write it down to mull over later.   As a result,…

INFLUENCE: (noun) effect  .  impact  .  power Some people, perhaps in an attempt to be modest, will insist that they have no influence, but everybody, to  a  greater or lesser degree, has influence. One  simple definition of the word influence from the Cambridge Dictionary is “the power to have an effect on people or things.”  Teachers should be the first to admit that they have influence–a lot of it. I forgot to celebrate  Teacher Appreciation Day last month. The event falls on May 7 each year.  When I was a high school principal, I was impressed by the way students and  their  parents showed their appreciation for their favorite teacher,…