Literally...

Every good Mormon knows that a decent Sacrament Meeting talk begins with the very original line of "Webster's Dictionary defines _____ as... In that spirit I submit the following...
Webster's Dictionary defines literally as: in a literal sense, actual, without interpretation or embellishment. Literally maybe be the most overused word in the English language, or at least a close second to like or just. How did literally come to mean the complete opposite of what it actually means? How did literally come to mean figuratively?
There are numerous ways to misuse and abuse literally. I simply point out the worst two.

First, people often use literally when it is unnecessary.

• "I am so tired I could literally fall asleep." Is there another way to fall asleep? I thought thhe literal way was the only way.
• "I am literally upset." Thank you for making it clear that you weren't figuratively upset. I was confused with what exactly you were going for there.
  

Second, the most frequent abuse of literally is when you actually mean figuratively.

• "I am literally going to kill him." Wow, I'm glad to know that you evaluated every rational response to this scenario and came up with premeditated murder. Are you sure you wouldn't want to figuratively kill him?
• "I am literally losing my mind." Thank you, I will alert the proper authorities.
• "I am going to literally die of boredom." First off, that has never happened. If you did, you would be a medical phenomenon, and that is rather exciting.
• And my personal favorite, "I am literally starving to death." Ask the children in Africa what it feels like to literally starve to death. I bet it's a lot worse than you think.

I know I'm not the first, nor will I be the last, to write a ranting and unoriginal blog post about literally. I beg us all to use literally less and figuratively more. If you don't, I may figuratively explode.

Gratitude...

Recently I’ve been thinking a lot on the subject of gratitude and being thankful for what we have. I like to think that most of us “think” we are grateful. Not to discount what we all feel, but I think we are all wildly inadequate. If we could truly stop and think about EVERYTHING that we have and how it compares to the majority of the world, our heads would explode. It is difficult to comprehend. We say we’re thankful for our clothes, our food, or friends, our family…but are we really?

Actually, I take that all back. I cannot speak for all of you, so I’ll speak in terms of me. I like to think I’m an overall grateful person. I try not to waste the things I have; but I am so incredible short on the gratitude scale. I open the fridge and lament that there is “nothing good to eat”…all the while there are children going to bed hungry. I complain that I can’t find anything to wear…all the while there are people shivering in the streets. I complain that I have nothing to do on the Friday night…all the while there are people fighting for their lives. At times I wallow in self pity, but I’m almost positive that 99% of the world wishes they could live the life I do. Overall, I need to be infinitely more grateful.

I don’t mean to be a downer and call everyone to change their ways and become better people. All I’m saying is that I need to be a better person, and I think it starts with gratitude. I had originally typed this post along with another few paragraphs on the beloved Mother Teresa; but I feel that she deserves her own space. (Thats coming soon...) So instead, I close with a simple quote for Saint Teresa: “The trouble is that rich people, well-to-do people, very often don't really know who the poor are; and that is why we can forgive them, for knowledge can only lead to love, and love to service. And so, if they are not touched by them, it's because they do not know them.” Also, “There must be a reason why some people can afford to live well. They must have worked for it. I only feel angry when I see waste. When I see people throwing away things that we could use.”

I’m going to try to “know” the poor, in order that I can be touched by them.

Gratitude…jump on board.