Words To Ponder: Several, Few, Many, Moment

Several a word defined in more than one way, but I want to focus on just one. It’s probably the most used meaning, as a number more than two or three but not many.

Since I was young, I always thought several meant a number around seven. And when I’d hear few, I always assumed about four. Through all its definitions, a few basically means a small number more than one.

When many is attributed to anything, it’s meant to be a large number of some sort.

When a moment passes by, it’s not what can be captured by a stopwatch. Instead it is just a brief, indefinite interval of time.

It has always bothered me why we use such words that aren’t definite. Of course, there are times and places to use words that aren’t exact. Too often though, I’ve noticed people embrace this wishy-washy language.

Is it fear of committing to something, or is it laziness? It’s worth looking into, and being more aware of, how we speak and express ourselves. I include myself in this, and understand how difficult it can be to nail down specifics.

We live in a click bait and “need it now” society that tolerates lacks of detail and follow through. Where did this lack of patience come from? Why can’t we take the time to enjoy the present and let what needs to happen on its own volition?

Recently, I saw a commercial for older folks dealing with hearing loss. My brain expected a normally fast commercial, but it kept going on. Then I realized the target demographic was for an older generation of people that don’t have limited attention spans. That was a small but profound reminder of how far we’ve fallen.

Life is way too short, so make sure to enjoy everything you’re given. Be present, while factoring in when it’s most appropriate to look ahead and look back. As they say it baseball, it’s a marathon, not a sprint!