Words from the Heart

Image via Wikipedia Every January 1st, millions of people around the world make resolutions to give up, do without, change, recreate, and/or begin something. They look back on the past year, see the areas in their lives that could have been better, could have been more, could have been happier and resolve to make it so in the year ahead. One problem, almost always, most of these resolutions suddenly fizzle out around mid-February. Why? I believe it is because they are made without the recognition that in order to bring about true change, one must remove the root of whatever it is that is causing the problem. For instance, we can try to lose weight, but, if we don't recognize and change our behavior - i.e., realize that we eat when stressed - then we will only resort back to that behavior. After fifty some odd years of resolutions, I have decided to approach resolutions from a different angle this year. Instead of changing something about me - weight, attitude, etc. - I would...

There are some words that I have found to be interesting. Words which cause you to want to know more or sound musical when you speak them or look as if they are a complete story unto themselves. Words like calliope, rutabaga, serendipity or peregrine. Sabbath has intrigued me since I first heard it. You seldom hear this word, unless it is spoken in the context of religion. Where did it come from? What is the meaning? Why are we still using it today? Sabbath comes from the Old English sabat - the seventh day of the week observed by the Jews of the day (about 950) as a day of rest; borrowed from Latin sabbatum , from Greek sabbaton , from Hebrew shabbath , from shabath he rested. Sabbath was applied to the first day of the week (Sunday) about 1410. The spelling with double b is first recorded about 1280, and that with th though recorded before 1382, did not become widespread before the 1500's. (Resource: The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, Robert Barnhart, Ed., ...