Meaning of Words

Tonight as I read a book on Music and Theology for class, I made the conscious decision to look up in the dictionary words for which the definition was unclear. I was amazed by the impact this simple tool had on my comprehension of the book. Words that I had simply assumed the meaning of based upon contextual tools and use in other life circumstances gained a depth of meaning and color they hadn't previously revealed. As I read, the message of the text became a masterpiece illuminated by a master painter. As I wondered over why the author chose to use one word over another to articulate an idea--poetry emerged. The melody was replaced with an intricate harmony of ideas, language, history, worldview, and education.

I realized that in order to hear a word, one must first know what the word means. To not know what the word means is to make the word equivalent to a sound uttered by an immigrant in a foreign tongue. It is disguised in such great manner that it is not repeatable or memorized. It does not bounce around in the cushion of the mind to gain understanding, because it blows past the ear. To not understand is to not hear and to not hear is to miss something beautiful!