Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Random, Rambling Thoughts About A Word

Word for the Day: afald or one-fold

I read somewhere that Ray Bradbury (hope I have the correct author) uses words to prime his writing--as a jumping off place; and Natalie Goldberg (author of Writing Down the Bones) referred to, in one of her books, her love of words and talked about the Oxford English Dictionary, a 20-volume set.

After being introduced to this massive collection, I found a CD containing all 20 volumes and a love affair began. Hard to believe...I enjoy reading a dictionary!

Recently, the original CD refused to run on my laptops. So...I ordered a revised edition. In this new edition, there is a Word for the Day. Today's word is aefald, or afald which means one-fold, singular, sole or simple, sincere, honest. Would "Keep It Afald" be effective instead of, "Keep It Simple." Guess not. Am kidding. Anyway, got to thinking about one-fold. Is being one-fold similar to being a one note, as in only able to do one thing? Is there a difference from being a one-note artist and specializing (and doing that one thing well)?

In any creative endeavor, the more one does the better one gets. I love still life, nature and everything about photography. However, I may be one-fold (one-note) when it comes to Renaissance-style images. When the final image pops up on my LCD screen I get excited. The play of light on form gets to me every time. That is the way it is. If that is one-fold, then so be it.

Here is my point: there is nothing wrong with specializing and excelling. So...if a one note is your lot in life, run with it. And.....

Remember: Be the Best You Can Be...Do Good, Be Good and Strive to Be Better.

1 comment:

Light and Voices said...

Being an expert at one thing is better than doing everything and not being good at anything.
jm