Part 1The more I experience and the more I increase my seldom interactions with others, I realise that we very regularly misuse words and have a tendency to completely deviate from their denotative meaning, instead focusing on the emotive. This is of course understandable, as we are humans loaded with emotion. The troubling thing is that once we replace the meaning of a word and consistently apply it within the parameters of our reality, it then becomes for us, the norm.
One such example is the word "skill". Culturally, we define and measure it comparatively, retrospectively or arbitrarily using barometers we have little to no knowledge of. While this may sound perfectly normal, this in fact runs counter to its definition:
"the ability, coming from one's knowledge, practice, aptitude, etc."After contemplating the meaning of the word, I was taken aback, severely, as like most, my understanding and grading of skill always involved other people but in fact, the core essence of skill is that it comes from within.
If we interpret "skill" as a quality adorned by others, which needs recognition and quantification from others, we immediately render ourselves as understudies in our pursuits, interns in our own life who possess zero self-knowledge. Perhaps this is part of greater human ailments; a devaluation of self and a reliance on authority. Perhaps. What I am certain of, is that if we define skill as a personal attribute, one that combines our experiences and perceptions, then as people, we all possess skills, we all have skills that apply to us and only us but over time and through the commodification of skills, a static set of norms has emerged which we internalise and measure ourselves against.
Perhaps it's time we step firmly into tomorrow with belief and a heightened sense of self-appreciation and a resounding duty to value and nurture our own skills.
- I write in order to avoid talking, for you see as a human, I suck at talking.
Location: In Transit
