Words
Because words and language are the very foundation of our thoughts and minds, I find it crucial to define them accurately, and cherish these definitions. I like to pick some of them which, I find, capture worth knowing concepts to help me navigate through existence.
Here is a list of these words. Some are deep philosophical concepts, others are lighter or amusing. I like to keep it handy, to go through them from time to time, to remind me of some lost beliefs and values.
Accepting reality
- Prólēpsis πρόληψις [pɹoʊˈlɛpsɪs], Hypolêpsis ὑπόληψις and Katalêpsis κατάληψις
These three Greek words describe an increasingly accurate grasping of reality. From prólêpsis meaning having preconception about reality, to katalêpsis meaning having a complete and fundamental grasping of ideas.
Our emotions are pushing us to build assumptions about the world and how things ought to be. The anger appealing for a sense of justice; the joy leading to an eager, maybe deceptive, anticipation; The sadness pessimisticly darkening a situation. These assumptions clouds and conceal the true nature of reality. But our emotions are but constructs we build for ourselves. It’s up to us to tune them to get rid of the assumptions they cause. This way, by accepting our emotions as they are and avoiding them to build assumptions, we can straighten our distorted perceptions, see reality as it is and reach katalêpsis.
I am not sure to fully understand these words, but I find them deeply inspiring. I would like to take a step back from my emotions more frequently, to see and accept them, rather being caught up in their swirl. In the hope of seeing more clearly how things are, rather than how I wish them to be.
- Ataraxia ἀταραξία
Imperturbability, literally ‘without trouble’, sometimes translated as ‘tranquillity’.
— https://iep.utm.edu/epictetu/#ataraxia
From alpha privative (“a-”, negation) and tarachē “disturbance, trouble”; hence, “unperturbedness”, generally translated as “imperturbability”, “equanimity”, or “tranquility”) is a Greek term for a lucid state of robust equanimity characterized by ongoing freedom from distress and worry.
— wikipedia/Ataraxia
I like how this word describes the state of mind that must be the result of an entire life: to not let ourselves be shaken by the relentlessly erupting flow of emotions that is life. Like going from getting sea sick from a tumultuous sea, to enjoying the gentle repetitive rolling of the waves.
I guess it would be the result of katalêpsis: only after taking some distance from the tumult of our emotions, can we find equanimity.
- serendipity [ˌsɛr(ə)nˈdɪpɪti]
The occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way. ‘a fortunate stroke of serendipity’
— lexico/serendipity
When focused on finding a very specific piece of Lego in a sea of Lego pieces, I often struggle to find it. But after some time, when looking for another piece, or just gazing aimlessly, I can find dozen of the initially sought-after piece.
In a 2003 article, the luck factor, Richard Wiseman showed that people who feels lucky simply tend to be more curious, keep their attention wandering, or keep an open mind. Whereas unlucky people tend to be more anxious and focused, missing opportunities on the way.
This words reminds me to keep a contemplating stance and an open mind, rather than diving head first into self-constructed beliefs and goals.
Accepting impermanence
- Wabi-sabi 侘寂
In traditional Japanese aesthetics, wabi-sabi is a world view centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection. The aesthetic is sometimes described as one of appreciating beauty that is “imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete” in nature.
— wikipedia/Wabi-sabi
To me, life is in constant movement, whereas I see perfection as some kind of immobile state that dominates others. This word captures perfectly the realization that a unique, dominant perfection doesn’t exist and doesn’t matter, that we can find beauty and contentment in the imperfection.
It reminds me of Kintsugi (金継ぎ, “golden joinery”), the art of repairing broken pottery with gold. The imperfection resulting from the broken pottery is the source of beauty itself. There are countless ways a bowl can be broken and mended, but it wouldn’t make sense to look for the one most beautiful way to break and mend a bowl.
- Mono no aware 物の哀れ
Literally “the pathos of things”, and also translated as “an empathy toward things”, or “a sensitivity to ephemera”, is a Japanese term for the awareness of impermanence, or transience of things, and both a transient gentle sadness (or wistfulness) at their passing as well as a longer, deeper gentle sadness about this state being the reality of life.
— wikipedia/Mono_no_aware
This word reminds me of the impermanence of everything. It both reminds me to be grateful for how things are now, and to learn accepting that things will change or disappear eventually. We must unceasingly push to maintain things in shape. And that’s both a blessing as it keeps life busy and fascinating, and a curse in the impression that there’s no safe resting place in life.
Finding purpose
- ikigai 生き甲斐
Ikigai, ‘a reason for being’, is a Japanese concept referring to something that gives a person a sense of purpose, a reason for living.
— wikipedia/Ikigai
This words is often associated with a set of ideas that forms a framework to find purpose in life through a balance between what we want, what we can offer, and what others want and can offer.
It reminds me that we can all find a place in the world. And I, surrounded by occidental phylosophy of individualism, often forget that this sense of purpose is not self-centered, and cannot be found in isolation. This sense of purpose is less coming from an inner place to find within our selves, and more a balanced co-existence with the world found by engaging with it.
- kaizen 改善, かいぜん
Kaizen is a japan word meaning small, steady improvements.
It does not matter how slowly you go, as long as you don’t stop.
— Confucius
To me, this word means that if we keep making steps toward the right direction, little by little, we can turn chaos into order, nothingness into somethingness. Like making sure to always leave the kitchen a bit cleaner than we found it, to take into account our own, unintentional, mess.
When the journey ahead is daunting or disheartening, it is reconforting to acknowledge how far we’ve come without any big leap forward, but only small, steady steps.
- Shoshin 初心
Shoshin is a word from Zen Buddhism meaning “beginner’s mind.” It refers to having an attitude of openness, eagerness, and lack of preconceptions when studying a subject, even when studying at an advanced level, just as a beginner would.
— wikipedia/Shoshin
Similarly to serendipity, this word reminds me to keep a curious, open mind as there are wonders to discover at every step of the journey. There is humility and excitement to be found in the attitude of keeping a beginner’s mind, two qualities we can never have enough of.
- Ensō 円相
In Zen, an ensō is a circle that is hand-drawn in one or two uninhibited brushstrokes to express a moment when the mind is free to let the body create.
— wikipedia/Ensō
This word can mean a wide variety of paradoxical concepts: fullness or emptiness, presence or absence, infinity, the perfect meditative state, or enlightenment. It reminds me of the unity of all things in life.
Because of these contradictions, it also reminds me of the apparent absurdity of our own existence. Our time-based experience in cahoots with the constant quest of our brains to find meaning lead us to explain our own existence in terms of a change from one state to another, of process, of result, of purpose, a linear trajectory from A to B. And yet, we cannot find any. We endlessly run in circle looking for a straight line.
Finding solace
- Hygge [ˈh(j)uːɡə]
Hygge is a Danish and Norwegian word for a mood of coziness and comfortable conviviality with feelings of wellness and contentment.
— wikipedia/Hygge
With all these stoïcs and zen concepts pushing abnegation and composure, let’s not forget to relax and appreciate the comfort of a quiet rest in a soft, cushy sofa. Because we can never have enough pillows, blankets and scented candles in life.
- Lagom [ˈlɑ̂ːɡɔm]
A Swedish and Norwegian word meaning “just the right amount”.
— wikipedia/Lagom
I like how this word implies that you know what I need, and I trust you to give me exactly that.
- Noosheh jaan
(sometimes spelled nusheh jaan) literally means: “may it be sweet for your soul”, ”may it be a pleasure to your being”. That sounds quite florid, but in common parlance, the utterance simply signifies: bon appetit, good appetite! It is what we say to everyone at the table before we commence to stuff our faces with delicious, delicious, ridiculously delicious Persian food.
— figandquince/noosheh-jaan
An iranian saying that roughly translates to ‘may your body enjoy it’. It reminds me that our corporal existence calls for pleasurable experiences well anchored in our pysical reality, such as the pleasure of eating delicious food, and the delight of sharing it with the people we love.
Finding meaning
- Symbol σύμβολον
Symbol comes from the greek symbolon, meaning any tally or token broken in half and kept by both parties of a contract, a pact or a friendship as a reminder of that link. From it derives the meaning of symbol that is, as well, some kind of reminder about the shared meaning agreed upon a specific concept.
Fu (符)1, in Chinese, has the same etymology of a broken tally to represent a contract.
I like this etymology as it reminds me that our language is a construct that we built to share meaning with each other, rather than something that exist outside of our existence. Maybe the meaning exist outside of our representation, but the representation is ours. Some like to call it the first tool or piece of technology created.
- Amen אָמֵן, ἀμήν
Amen is an Abrahamic declaration of affirmation […] used in Jewish, Christian and Islamic worship, as a concluding word, or as a response to a prayer. Common English translations of the word amen include “verily”, “truly”, “it is true”, and “let it be so”.
— wikipedia/Amen
To me this word kind of implies we can invoke fate by the only action of our will and words. And it’s reassuring to know that we do have the ability to leave our mark in the world, hopefully for the better.
Also, folk etymologies associate Abracadabra from phrases in Hebrew that mean “I will create as I speak”, or Aramaic “I create like the word” (אברא כדברא)2, which I correlate with the meaning of Amen “let it be so”. And I find intringuing as well as amusing the idea that religion and mystic magic might have common roots.