I love words. I love that they go together and make sentences. I love that some people have such an amazing ability to string them together in such a fashion that they more than make sense, in fact they inspire. I have a friend and colleague who used to bring the "word for the day" to team meetings. I loved how he would bring a usually obscure word to our attention and we would learn its' meaning and pronunciation. I appreciate the usage of words especially when they encourage. I hate it when words are used to hurt or denigrate.
Sometimes I am struck by a word without ever thinking about its' origin or meaning. I experienced just that today when I heard someone say the word "killjoy" and the thought of killing ones joy flooded over me. To break the word into two leaves me with kill and joy. The common definitions are those who refer to "someone who spoils the fun or pleasure of others".
But is it possible? Joy is not happiness. Happiness is based on the outward experiences that are foisted upon us. Joy is a state not based on experiences, but rather a state of existence without the qualifiers of others. So, is there really a "killjoy" or is the word inappropriately named? If my joy cannot be stolen, can I give it away? Am I therefore the only killjoy that exists? It is then a choice to remove life from my joy all by myself. I cannot kill the joy of others, or can I? I used to say to my kids that being grumpy was a choice and they (or I depending on my day) could choose to be grumpy or happy.
I see that nothing much has changed, has it?
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