Speaking of gratitude for thin veils, thank goodness for my grandparent’s farm.

Every day was a heyday thanks to their hayloft.

Hey Oh!

“Oh, hey.”

Surely, I was in heaven, and I was unaware.

We’d come back into that farm house, out of breath, as dusty as can be; and like clockwork, my grandma Eunice would utter

Oh for heaven’s sake. Also in her rotation:

Oh my stars

Oh my goodness

Honestly and

Good gravy.

(Good gravy was her go-to).

“Oh my word … your relatives kept a cow in this house?”

(If your barn isn’t finished and you get an early October snowstorm, you do what you gotta do.) (6)

Heavens to Bessy.

The evolution of language is fascinating. In exploring the etymology of “goodness,” you will find it linked to “godnes,” implying a “kindliness” to trust in. (7) The word “good” as a noun, arrives from an Old English “god” (with a long “o”), referencing “that which is good … a gift.” (8)

How long O Lord?

How long? Oh, Lord.

The word “good” as an adj arrives from an Old English “gōd,” standing for that which is excellent, valuable, desirable, favorable, beneficial, full, and complete.” (10)

Oh my. That’s a mouthful.

If you’re like me, words and phrases fly out of your mouth on autopilot, buckled to barely passed vocab tests you crammed for.

Those were the days

Which made

Up

So much of our mind.

A care taker looks your way, asking you, in front of your class, to define the meaning of “ness.”

You regurgitate a memorized line: “A word-forming element denoting action, quality or state.” (12)

Very good.

In all seriousness, when is the last time you thought about your ness?

Goodness, gracious.

Who knew I was pumping out 10% bitterness, 5% sadness, and 5% happiness

Within

My 70% usefulness?

“We did.”

Oh. Good God

What else is surfacing?

Oh, to “promise to one another active sincerity, which strives to see truth clearly, and which never fears to declare what it sees.” (14)

Here’s a ritual to practice, entitled: “Hi Ness.”

Try saying hi to your ness, all throughout the day

Untangling the mess throughout the way

Multiple percentages are at play

Under your surface

Within.

Unlock

Your ness. Dive

In deep. Wrestle over under

Sorting it out, reprioritizing as needed.

Favor a favorite, like kindliness. Love kindliness

Taking yourself at your word. The world awaits your “Hi Ness.”

Who do you think you are?

Oh my gōd.

An o line.

An off season.

Hope

Within.

Play by play, we grace poor sports with offensive and defensive commentary.

“Top Shelf!”

(Hot mic.)

“Oh no.”

We call it like (we think) it is, meaning what we say,

While others try to catch on

Following after

A tone that tells

On us.

Be good for goodness sake.

“For the sake of goodness?”

Oh for Christ’s sake.

“Nope. Have you not heard? Christ got traded for Pete.”

WHAT?! There goes the season! Oh, for Pete’s “account, interest, cause, benefit, and purpose.” (15)

Oh for Pete’s reputation, name, brand, contract-extension, and way.

“Let it Out.” (16)

“Words are not the things they stand for, but devices by means of which we are enabled to think about things.” (17)

Think “shortand;” a stand in that stands for “something much bigger,” wrapped by “a collection of letters that will be pronounced, abbreviated, translated and mispronounced.” (18)

Think “terms of endearment,” and that nickname you earned, fair and square, that breaks if you take it literally.

“Honey, please.”

The words we use to think and share are like mascots, a “quick get” with more than one face, serving as symbolic representatives, referencing a spirit

Within

A team of characters.

“The hint speaks to the heart.” (19)

Forgive us this day our words

as we forgive others, as well their words

Acting as if … that set character or character set were

Us.  

Thata way.

(That is to say

Play in a

Way that’s rich.)

In other

Words, humbly

Be

Useful, genuine and kind. (20)

Goodness.

Words are strange. Think about how often they get used, and how they don’t talk back, even when we misuse them. Think about how they just sit there and take on our assumptions, bearing our agendas, goals, plans, points and fears.

Take the phrase “my God,” for example, which, for some religious gatherers, seems to be an acceptable, and even, prayer-like phrase, until that is, you put an “oh,” in front of it.

Oh my God!

“Oh my gosh, Pete. What has gotten into you? Watch your mouth.”

I did. I watched yours too. What exactly do you mean by, oh, my “distortion of Lord,” or oh, my “minced oath,” offering up an “altered” “appeal?” (21)

“Get behind me.”

Excuse me?

“I need to know you’ve got my back.”

“You and me

Always between the lines.” (22)

In one of humanity’s dustiest books, the meaning of “oh” can be seen

Within

The phrase “Lo and behold,” an expression conveying:

- Looking

- Seeing

- Observing

- Regarding and

- Holding in view. (23)

Hey Lo.

“Green Light.” (25)

Go teem. (26)

In light of

The restlessness

Within

The hopelessness of untended to bitterness, and how that state leads to loneliness and all kinds of illness

Let

Us

Prepare more room for stillness in order to

Cultivate consciousness, sorting out our purpose in light of our likeness; that hunger for greatness

Within.

These are the days.

“We must choose what kind of people we want to be for the sake of all of us.” (27)

Sounds good.

Sounds promising.  

Oh the “audacity of hope.” (28)

Here’s to the usefulness of good-looking visions, leveraging the “common fund” of common sense our wellness is depending on. (29)

Here’s to life “schooling” our will. (30)

Here’s to the way “experience fashions reason, and reason fashions experience” (31)

Leading us forward

To “live for an ideal” (32)

We

keep

getting to

know.

Dawn

Rising

Deep

Like us

A tail spin

Spinning a tale

Written in hindsight, symbolizing insight

Within.

Differentiate, discern, determine and draw

Good more good

Disrupting my ongoing unconscious states.

Like us.

Eyes open.

Spells broken.

Strong and courageous

Eve

Consider “our ability to synthesize and integrate diverse inputs, ideas and viewpoints,” and ask yourself: (33)

Is knowing growing good?

How do you know? If it is good, then

How portable should our drive be?

How long should our tools be?

What words should we prioritize and pack in our ness?

“Is it possible that we are evolving towards a more natural, more beautiful and more human future?” (34)

What to say?

What to pray?

“Let your life be your asking.” (35)