Ease...Enlighten...Encourage...Enliven...

Wednesday's word was "Ease."

Noun

1.   Rest; an undisturbed state.  Applied to the body, freedom from pain, disturbance, excitement or annoyance.  He sits at his ease.  He takes his ease.

1.  Applied to the mind, a quiet state; tranquility;  freedom from pain, concern, anxiety, solicitude, or any thing that frets or ruffles the mind.

1.   Rest from labor.

1.  Facility; freedom from difficulty or great labor.  One man will perform this service with ease.  The author writes with ease. 

1. Freedom from stiffness, harshness, forced expressions, or unnatural arrangement;  as, the ease of style.

1. Freedom from constraint or formality;  unaffectedness;  as ease of behavior.

Verb

1. To free from pain or any disquiet or annoyance, as the body;  to relieve; to give rest to;  as, the medicine has eased the patient.

1. To free from anxiety, care or disturbance, as the mind;  as, the late news has eased my mind.

1. To remove a burden from, either of body or mind;  to relieve;  with "of."  Ease me of this load;  ease them of their burdens.

1. to mitigate;  to alleviate; to assuage;  to abate or remove in part anhy burden, pain, grief, anxiety or disturbance.

1. To quiet;  to allay;  to destroy;  as, to ease pain.

1.  To make light; to shed light on;  to supply with light;  to illuminate;  as, the sun enlightens the earth.

1.  To quicken in the faculty of vision; to enable to see more clearly.

1.  To give light to;  to give clearer views; to illuminate; to instruct;  to enable to see or comprehend truth;  as, to enlighten the mind or understanding.

1. To illuminate with divine knowledge, or a knowledge of the truth.

1.  To give action or motion to;  to make vigorous or active; to excite; as, fresh fuel enlivens a fire.

1. To give spirit or vivacity to;  to animate; to make sprightly.  Social mirth and good humor enliven company;  they enliven the dull and gloomy.

To ease off or ease away, in seamen's language, is to slacken a rope gradually.

To ease a ship, is to put the helm hard alee, to prevent her pitching, when close hauled.

     There is a lot of food for thought in this word.  I go straight to the scriptures in my mind..."...ease one another's burdens..."  It is a covenant I made when I was baptized many, many years ago.

     I am not sure how well I keep that covenant.  I know that it is in my heart to do it.  When my family or someone I know is ill, I know that I would take it all to myself to allow them to be whole and well...I haven't figured out how to do that yet.  The only person I know of who has ever accomplished that was crucified.  But I still would do it if I could.

     Being a mother, I am sure I have done something for my children that has eased a burden at some point.

     As a teacher, I know that I try to alleviate the fear of the project and shown how the skills are simple to learn...I think I am pretty successful at that as each of my pottery students end up actually making something before they go home from each class.  And they are smiling and they come back.

     As a wife, I probably do the least.  And it is where I should probably do the most.

     This is a hard word for me.  It is in my nature to be helpful.  Helpful,  that is a sort of easing.

Thursday's word was "Enlighten"

     Oh, this word! 

     How often do you hear "seek enlightenment?"  It sounds so Zen.  

     I like the 2nd and 3rd definition for daily living...you know, the everyday interaction with others.  I find that good conversation brings a certain degree of enlightenment...like those "ah ha" moments.

     But I like the 4th definition in connection with this program and my personal growth efforts.  I do believe in a God in heaven who loves me and wants me to return to Him.  I desire that divine knowledge that helps me make right choices and helps me to overcome the weaknesses inherent to mortality.

     As we share our thoughts and understandings along the way through this mortal existence we bring enlightenment to one another.

Friday's word was "Encourage"

     On Mondays and Fridays I talk with my 'coach' and we sort through the details of this program together.  It is a wonderful time.  We really spend the time encouraging one another.  It is a good thing for me.

     I am encouraged to blog, to read, to set goals, to return and report, to grow, to become.  I like to think that I in turn encourage others to grow, and become and to learn new things...to increase in creativity, etc.

Here is the definition from 1828

To give courage to;  to give or increase confidence of success;  to inspire with courage, spirit, or strength of mind;  to embolden; to animate; to incite; to inspirit.

     I hope I am helpful to others in this way.  I know there is one woman who feels encouraged...she brings me cookies to class...loaded with nuts!  :)

Today's word was "Enliven"

     Literally, to give life.

1. To give action or motion to;  to make vigorous or active; to excite; as, fresh fuel enlivens a fire.
2. To give spirit or vivacity to;  to animate; to make sprightly.  Social mirth and good humor enliven company;  they enliven the dull and gloomy.

I think that this word goes with Encourage.  Encouragement helps motivate a person to action...gives fresh fuel to the fire of desire.

     Goals do that to.  If we set goals with a purpose...I mean, if we set meaningful goals, not just goals that sound good but goals that we mean...then we are enlivened by them.  We derive energy from them.  

     I watched a video today of a "football" (soccer) team in Thailand who had a dream.  This bunch of kids loved to watch soccer on TV and one day they decided to actually play soccer...the problem is that they lived on a floating island...not on grain of soil to be seen.  So they got in their boats and started collecting scrap lumber and they built themselves a wooden, floating, soccer field.  They played in their bare feet, dodging nails, landing in the water sometimes...as out of bounds was the water...and they got really good.

     One day they decided to join in a tournament...And they took 2nd place!!

Let's see if I can find the url to share with you.

http://funniestvideoalbum.blogspot.sg/2014/03/what-if-nothing-is-impossible.html?m=1

     I hope it works...it is really inspirational.  It really reminded me that where there is a will there is definitely a way...even in severe circumstances.

     

Tomorrow's word is "Endorse"...I really have to think on how I want to express my feelings about that word.

Here's to Growing and Glowing!!

Onward and Upward!

Tari