Life Quest (and other stuff)

Nice!* I would like to think that I am a nice person. Yes, there are times that I am not moon beams and cheese curls, but in general I think I am nice. It seems however that being called nice has almost turned into an insult of late. In movies, the “nice” guy seldom gets the girl. “That’s nice” often is used as a sarcastic remark. “It’s nice” almost borders on meaning mediocre in day to day conversation. The truth – being nice is something great, something to aspire to. When did the world become all about standing ovations and gold medals? Why do we often feel there are no points for second best? And why do we believe that being nice is second rate? (I have a theory on why I sometimes fall into this trap, but I would like you to figure this out for yourself.) So let’s go back to basics, the dictionary. Here follows a few definitions of the word “nice:” pleasant or pleasing or agreeable in nature or appearance decent: socially or conventionally correct; refined or virtuous...

One of my favourite Google pastimes is to look up the definitions of words. Sometimes you think you know a word, but you may have learnt it from context, or heard it from someone who didn't really know either. Then, one day, you use a word with great confidence, just to be sneered at by a whole array of individuals. Not fun. This is where the ability to type in - define: word - is so wonderfully useful. True I can't do this successfully amidst an intellectual repartee, but useful none the less. Not so when it comes to me. Type in define: me and you get things about a state in New England, somebody's first (or was it third) album, a reference to a letter from the Greek alphabet, but absolutely nothing (and I mean nothing) about me. Guess I'll have to figure this out for myself.