While I COULD wile away the hours here, for your sake I won’t. Why? Because I actually DO have a brain!
But, the prompt did ask what three objects I couldn’t live without. Well, the first thing that came to mind was my brain. Without a brain, which is the central nervous system for this flesh mech, I, just like the scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz, would simply hang limp on a pole in a corn field.
The second object that’s a must-have for survival, again, can be answered by one of the characters from that old movie, The Wizard of Oz. Remember the Tin Man? Without a heart to pump blood throughout the body, nourishing all of the precious organs that make us flux an flow, we would simply break down, shrivel up and cease to exist!
While I realize you were expecting me to call up the cowardly Lion for my third object needed, I think his courage actually came from his heart, so those two sort of go hand in hand, in my humble opinion. I’m going to call upon our beloved Dorothy… and her little dog too!
What is this thing that I am eluding too? Lungs! How on earth would Dorothy, or Toto for that matter, be a proper example of lungs, you may be asking? Judy Garland, who played the role of Dorothy, had an amazing singing voice, did she not? And, Toto had the ability to bark, which he did a great amount of, in order to protect and save the group of adventurers on several occasions. I am pretty confident in thinking that they both had a decent set of pipes!
Don’t ask me why The Wizard of Oz was the first thing that popped into my head when I read this mornings Daily Prompt question… I’ve no earthly idea.
But, you do have to admit that it worked pretty well. And, I’m being fully honest in choosing a brain, a heart and lungs as the three objects I couldn’t live without. I’m fairly certain that none of us would get along without them, don’t you agree?
In truth, I can get along without every other earthly object if it came down to brass tacks, as they say.
Here, have an apple. I promise, the trees won’t throw them at you…
You know that feeling you get when stepping off of a moving object? That feeling of unsteadiness, while your brain tries to stop things from moving, so that you can stand upright. Or, maybe you’ve played that crazy game, where you spin yourself around and then try to run a sack race, or something of that nature.
Some folks feel dizzy, while others may feel a bit queasy. I have decided to label this feeling as being discombobulated. I am striving to become a Word Smith, you know.
While it is a rather big word, sometimes those other words just don’t do justice to the depth and meaning of what you’re experiencing. Being that I am quite small, and I also feel both dizzy and queasy on this ride, little words just don’t feel as fitting as discombobulated. Why is that?
Well, let’s ask at Mr. McGoogle about our word of the week…
AI Overview
Discombobulated is an informal American English adjective meaning completely confused, frustrated, upset, or disorganized. It describes a state of being thrown off-kilter, bewildered, or severely disoriented. The term originated in the early 19th century as a playful, nonsensical variant of words like “discompose”.
Key details about “discombobulated”:
Pronunciation: Dis-com-bob-u-lay-ted (stress on “bob”).
Usage Examples: “I felt totally discombobulated after the long flight”; “The speaker was discombobulated by the hecklers”.
Context: It is often used to describe a, mental state of confusion or a situation that is in disarray.
I suppose that one wouldn’t use this word as a descriptor, if they actually enjoyed being spun around in circles, clinging to anything that might keep them from being catapulted off the ride. Ummmmm…. duh! I’m an ant! If I get tossed off the ride, things get pretty painful, if you know what I mean. The only successful flight I’ve ever taken was on that floating Dandelion, remember?
My next thought, or question, if you will, is to wonder what-if about those times where the ride doesn’t make you feel queasy. What do we call those times where the dizziness and tummy flip-flops bring forth excitement, happiness, and joy? Let’s ask…
AI Overview
Discombobulated means to be confused, frustrated, or upset. It describes a state of being unsettled, scattered, or not fully coherent. Its opposites include terms that signify being calm, organized, and focused, such as composed, organized, calm, clearheaded, or collected.
Top Antonyms (Opposites):
Composed/Calm/Collected: Remaining steady and unruffled.
Organized/Systematic: Having things in order, as opposed to scattered.
Clearheaded/Focused: Able to think clearly.
Oriented: Knowing where you are and what is happening.
Level-headed: Being in control and rational.
Note: While “combobulate” is sometimes used humorously, it is not considered a formal, standard English word.
Well, that’s rude!
The English language has rules, exceptions, and uses for making valid counter words for things like Famous, and Infamous, remember?! And now they say that combobulate can’t be used as an actual counter word… rubish!
I, Lilly, the flying journalist, shall now dub our positive counter word to be Probobulated!
Wiwohka Overview
Probobulated – means to be happily surrendered, freely un-frustrated, and miles away from agitated. The word signifies composure, organization, calmness, clear-headedness, and/or being collected. It describes a state of being moldable, softened, and full of faith. It’s opposites include terms that signify confusion, frustration, or being upset.
I wonder how hard it would be to convince Merriam-Webster to accept my new word? Perhaps if a few of you suggested it, as well as myself, we might just enact some future changes for the betterment of all mankind.
Why not?
It could happen, you know. We just need to science it out, first.
It’s been an unusual week, to say the least. Things seemed normal, at first. We had our annual inspection of the apartment which went fine, and didn’t last longer than about 5 minutes. I think they’re actually wanting to just make sure we weren’t trashing their property. After living here for the last year, I can fully understand why.
Not fifteen minutes after the inspection ended, someone on the fourth floor decided to light the garbage room on fire, setting off the entire floor’s fire suppression ceiling faucets, thereby drenching every apartment below, and nearby. We had responders crawling all over the building, and water flowing freely from light fixtures, as well as power outlets. Needless to say, we pulled all our computers free of any plugins… and then waited for the water to stop.
Eventually we stopped leaking everywhere, but it took a full two days of de-humidifiers humming nonstop in all the hallways, to help the drying process. We are still waiting for maintenance to get to us, in order to replace the bad light fixtures and outlets that were affected by the water. Thankfully, we really didn’t have any damage to our personal belongings, but it did scare me enough to do an updated triple back-up of all my literary and illustration work. There’s far too much material to just do over again, before I’m ever even able to submit them to someone for publishing.
That last word, publishing, has me headed to the next issue I’ve been mulling over… trying to produce a manuscript that might rival all those new fangled ai editing and content creating applications. We now have to compete with computer generated books. I woke this morning to a commercial offering a program that will write all your ebooks for you from start to finish… it’s kind of sickening to me, if I’m to be honest.
If everyone is filling their carts with no-brainer e-books, what are us real authors left to work with? How on earth am I to get these books into readers hands, if they don’t care to look beyond their little electronic brain suckers?
I feel truly sad for all those amazing and fantastic authors out there, who slaved away to create such beautiful works of art, in literary form. They were the real trailblazers for most of us wordsmiths, and they didn’t need a smart phone to do it! Will anyone ever put proper guidelines, rules, and stipulations to how much we should use a computer to do our thinking, talking, acting, singing, writing, and surviving this world. Guess what folks? A computer is only meant for housing usable information for us to access when necessary, but the computer doesn’t think, feel, or have any awareness of itself, beyond what someone programmed it to believe.
Sorry, but that commercial really rubbed me the wrong way. I don’t disagree with the helpful usability that modern technology affords us, including some areas of ai technology. The problem I have is the lemming mentality that much of society has begun to propagate. That means when one person jumps in a particular direction, and everyone in their proximity chooses to jump along with them, just so as not to be left behind.
Seriously, are we in that much of a hurry to dumb ourselves down, and allow government, news media, and most of TikTok to regulate how we think, act, and behave? No Thanks!
Anyway, now that I got that off my chest, how about we all celebrate the end of the work week, yaaaayyyyyyyyyyy! Gooooo Frrrriiiidddaaaayyyyy!!!!!
I shall now head into an Icarus adventure, donning my high powered Sniper Rifle, and collecting my pack of wolves, in order to do some hunting for our prospecting crew. Have no fear… my puppies will keep me safe. Plus, I ride an arctic Moa named Kevin. If he doesn’t like you, he’ll swing his neck and smack you with his head. It’s rather unpleasant for whatever predator thought he’d be an easy meal.
Just as the mountains cast a perfect reflection of themselves upon the water, so to does a man cast a perfect reflection of his own character through the words coming out of his mouth.
It’s no wonder that the bible speaks constantly about things like being quick to listen, but slow to speak, or guarding our lips. And, don’t forget how many times scripture warns of taking every thought captive, as well as, every word.
We humans can be very nasty if wronged or offended. In some instances, we do it without any provocation, at all!
While reading the book of Matthew, I found myself circling and recircling chapter 12:33-37, where Jesus is rebuking the Pharisees for their blasphemous words against the Holy Spirit. I want to share the passage with you this morning, and you can take from it what you will.
33 “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. 35 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. 36 But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”
Personally, the truth of how powerful words can be, strikes a chord within my spirit. How many times have I encountered someone whose vile speech completely envelopes their character, possibly smothering anything good that may have been there? How many times have I, myself, spoken out in anger or frustration, thereby marring any good fruit that I may have wished to offer others?
Apparently, God knew that we would struggle with things like anger, hurt, resentment, or even arrogance and cruelty. Often we say what makes us feel better, before ever considering the outcome of our words on those we use them against. Notice how I say we, because I’m not immune to this naughty human nature. The struggle is real!
Nearly two years ago, I made a bold commitment to God, and myself, to no longer use any profanity, derogatory speech, or disrespectful words, so as to no longer offend the Holy Spirit. For the most part, I’ve held true to my word. But then there are those days where I find myself slipping a few potty words into my vocabulary when no one is nearby.
While the scripture I shared is in the context of rebuking the hypocritical Pharisees, I believe that it goes far deeper than that specific sinful behavior, being displayed by those questioning Jesus at that moment.
Without going out of context, I think Jesus was speaking, not just to the Pharisees, but to the many people observing the situation. What was spoken by those men, as well as, how Jesus responded to their accusations and statements was being witnessed by many. Not only am I confident that Jesus put those men in their spiritual place, but he also left a lasting example of how dangerous one’s words can be to their own eternal soul.
I will probably still have those times where my mouth gets the better of me, but it won’t stop or discourage me from trying to be better, think better, speak better, and reflect His perfect love in a manner that honors my creator! While I am confident of my own eternal spiritual future, I’ve no desire to ever do or say a thing that might cause another to be damaged, discouraged, or dissuaded from seeking a soul saving relationship with God, his son Jesus Christ, and God’s precious Holy Spirit.
Sorry, not sorry, about going deep on this subject. I suppose that I feel very convicted about my own silent grumbling and potty words. Psalm 139 prevents me from using any excuses about my hidden slip-ups, as it speaks clearly of how closely God watches our every word, thought, action, and motive. If my maker knew if me before the creation of the world, and Jesus gave his life ages before I was ever formed in my mothers womb, and God knows the exact number of hairs on my head… there’s no hiding a single sin or shortcoming from him, is there?
One of the best exercises one can do, in regards to changing one’s speech and behaviors, is to try walking through a single day, considering that Christ is right there in the room with you the whole time. Whenever something comes to your lips, try asking yourself if you feel comfortable saying it in front of Him. Oh, and also ask yourself one other question (this is one of my own)… are you ok with how you say it, what your tone of voice is, and most importantly, what is the expression on your face?
By the way, God speaks all languages, including sign language, pig Latin, and Navajo Wind talk… just sayin!
Note to self… a little bit of fertilizer goes an awful long way. Less is more, my friends. No wonder Eustace is always so tired, what with trying to manage this vegetable bonanza.
While I certainly don’t wish for our resident camel to overwork himself, I’m secretly drooling over those giant squash. What I wouldn’t give to see this kind of produce on the shelves in Walmart.
Maybe Eustace has stumbled upon something amazing, and together we will take over the world, Pinky… oh, wait… that’s from Pinky and the Brain, sorry.
If you think I’ll be able to eat all this stuff, you’re mistaken because I don’t think I could get past even one of those squash. This leaves the rest to all of you, so strap on your feedbags, as they say, and dig in…
Though I’ve no desire to reminisce about the differing places my shoes have been, I am able to reflect on the ones I’ve worn over the years.
I do still have my first pair of baby shoes tucked away in a box…
From baby booties til now, I’ve moved from sneakers to cowboy boots, and back to sneakers, again. Then I went from sneakers to differing ladies fancy shoes, but soon returned to sneakers.
I even tried going from sneakers to moccasins, but still found myself back in sneakers!
I’ve finally come to rest on living a shared sneaker/slipper lifestyle.
I keep em as long as they’ll hold up! No one should ever give up on a garment just because it looks a bit faded or worn. Quite honestly, my shoes don’t feel right until after they’ve been stretched, stained, and well broken in.
My sneakers average a life of about a year, but that’s pushing it… and I usually own twin pairs so they will last longer. I walk alot!
Right now, I own a pair of fluffy slipper shoes that a friend gave me last year. They are stained from my coffee spills, but oh so faithfully comfortable.
There ya have it, folks, more information than you ever wanted or needed to know about the life of my feet.
Here, have a cookie that my feet have NOT been anywhere near…
though there have been a few squirrels involved in presenting them.
A word caught my eye this morning, as I was reading. When I first saw the word duplicity, my word rolodex spun up, and then shuddered to a stop.
Whenever I read a word that makes me pause, I find it’s a good idea to look it up, just in case I’ve misunderstood a thing. It happens to everyone, I’m sure, what with the English language having so many words, meanings, innuendos, and side rules for certain words and letters. Why they had to make things so darn hard, I’ll never understand.
But, I didn’t make the rules, so there’s no point in griping about them, right?!
Well, when I thought on what was bothering me about the word, it’s meaning fit in the context of the sentence I was reading, but I kept wanting to read it as duplicate, even though that word isn’t necessarily a negative one.
So, yes, I googled it!
First things first, I looked up the actual definition for duplicity…
So, in the light of what I was reading, duplicity certainly fit, but why did my mind go to duplicate? Look just above this sentence, at the bottom of the definition. I guess my mind was triggered by the old form, which apparently was called doubleness. What does doubleness mean? Well, I checked…
doubleness /ˈdəb(ə)lnəs/ noun: doubleness
the quality or state of having two parts; duality.”the focus is on puns that reveal the doubleness of the poet’s meaning”
I get what doubleness means, and in a negative light such as duplicity reflects, I agree with the words usage.
Why then, did I get stuck on that silly word, duplicate, when I knew it was not the right word? Most likely, it was simply the similar spelling of both words. I deduced that part in the first five minutes, but went down a tiny rabbit hole, provided by none other than Google.
If I’m to share the definitions for duplicity, as well as, doubleness, we have to look at duplicate… just to be fair.
du·pli·cate adjective: duplicate /ˈdo͞opləkət/
1. exactly like something else, especially through having been copied.”a duplicate license is issued to replace a valid license which has been lost” Opposite: different
1. one of two or more identical things.”books may be disposed of if they are duplicates”
a copy of an original. “locksmiths can make duplicates of most keys” Opposite: original
verb: duplicate; 3rd person present: duplicates; past tense: duplicated; past participle: duplicated; gerund or present participle: duplicating
Did you know that duplicate is considered an adjective, a noun, AND a verb, depending on it’s usage? Call me crazy, but I didn’t realize this, til I looked it up this morning. I also discovered that I’m not the only one who has come upon this little conundrum. It’s true! There’s already an explanation out there for the difference between duplicity and duplicate… go figure!
Check this out, and then I’ll leave you alone.
The word duplicate is derived from the Latin word duplicare, which means to double. Duplicity means deceitfulness, treacherousness, underhandedness, fraud or dishonesty. Duplicity is a noun, a related word is duplicitous.
This made more sense than all three of the other definitions. I wish I had have read this at the beginning of my research… sheesh!
I like to turn this song way up and sing along, whether the cats go running or the dogs start howling. My soul just wants to worship, and the lyrics are spot on!
While I could regale you for hours with all the times I’ve performed over the years, would it be worth the mention if my only audiences were fictional ones?
Well, they weren’t all fictional, to be totally fair about things. My performance career began very early on, where I learned to hone my speech and drama skills on any and all of my baby dolls.
From there, I branched out over the years to include any living animal that was either willing to stay and listen or coralled long enough to endure my theatrical onslaught!
Eventually, my poor audience members would run when they saw me preparing for one of my performances, leaving me to talk to myself… which I readily did!
If you were to ask any one of my adult children, I’m sure they would attest to my ability to give such lengthy speeches that they wished they could escape, just as all my childhood audience victims had done!
So, there you have it, my friends!
As the title of this post reflects, as far as performing and/or speech giving… The world really is my oyster.
… like the frozen peaks of a mighty mountain range. Sadly, little can survive there.
What about finding church in nature?
Can all that quite beauty and solitude become a church, of sorts? Meditating in peace, while trying to safely navigate this lost and fallen world?
Can Church be found in a book, but not in a heart?
What about where 2 or more are gathered?
Do I fit into the Church, or is the Church supposed to reside within Me?
Google says that the Bible mentions the word Church about 120 different times.
Somebody on Google also says that there are estimated to be between eight and 16 million actual church buildings in the world.
Another person says that there are 37 million churches throughout the world.
Oh yeah, and I also read that there are more than 45,000 Christian denominations in the world. I think I found all this information in under 5 minutes on the great World Wide Web. What started out as my morning quiet time in the word, turned into 2 days of trail walks, another day pondering my own church experiences, and then finally, the above mentioned 5 minutes of “Google is your friend”!
Honestly, at this point, I was feeling like a deer caught in someone’s proverbial headlights! I know we all believe that google is our friend, but let me tell ya, not only is it your friend, but EVERYBODY’S friend! Electronic Overshare Overload is what I will consider reality! Jokes aside, the web can be a great resource, within reason. Too much of a good thing can be not so good for us. Well, at least that’s how that old saying goes, anyways.
I am realizing that I am not interested in what the WWW thinks, nor am I certain as to where I stand with my own beliefs, regarding this subject.
However, here is the awesome truth about faith… I do believe in WHO God is and what He says to me! If I am to believe that the Bible is 100% truth, it goes to show that I will find the honest answers to my questions within this very book, right? Within this one book are my answers, written down simply and clearly, assuming I am truly seeking the HONEST answer.
With this truth upon my heart, I am embarking on a journey of knowledge, that I may see with clarity a Godly understanding of Church, His purpose, and how I fit into the body of Christ (His Church).
You know I will not go all the way to some clarity, without returning with some really great stories for you all. Keep a weathered eye out for me, and I will see you on the (metaphorical) flip side…
Journey With Me! 