Definitions for Living (ePub)

The ability to communicate through the use of words is one of the major skills that distinguishes humans from other creatures. Having a formal language which can be spoken and written has allowed people to create emotional and practical bonds between themselves and others which can transcend not only time and distance but physical and cultural barriers as well. With this unique ability to communicate through language, humans have been able to accomplish what no other creatures could ever accomplish. As a psychotherapist and family counselor for the last forty years, I have become acutely aware of the power of words to both confuse and clarify, to hurt and heal. Over this time I have noticed that certain words and concepts seem to appear repeatedly in conversations between marriage partners, business associates, and other people attempting to develop effective and rewarding relationships. A significant part of the therapy I do with my clients is to help them clarify for themselves and then for others what they mean by what they say. As an extension of my work over the years, I have written a number of articles about some of the more commonly misunderstood words and ideas over which my clients were having conflict. As I have shared the articles with them and with others in workshops and seminars, I have often been asked to make them available to others outside my office. This book is the result of those requests. It is a book of ' working definitions.' You will find that, in this book, my basic approach to defining a word will be somewhat different from that used in a standard dictionary. A typical dictionary, out of necessity, must usually limit a word's definition to a brief, generally accepted meaning and then provide synonyms and antonyms of that word, along with some examples of how the word can be used in a sentence. For my purposes, I will define a word or explain a concept so that it can be more completely understood and thus more effectively applied in every