Who's My Name?

Abstract

In a class this week, speaking with first-year students, I asked a young fellow what an adjective was. He was flustered more than a little bit and replied that it was "an action", but then took that back saying "No, a verb is an action". He was still wrong. His mistake was picking the flower and not the root. As you know well, a verb is essentially a word. This word describes an action. Am I too picky? No! So I returned to the lad and again invited him to impress the class with his definition of an adjective. He still didn't get the picture or the correct root. Yup, an adjective is primarily also a word which can describe a noun. He will always remember what he learned in that class and his tuition has produced some advancement anyway.|Now that you know what an adjective is, two huge prayer-questions arise. What is the noun by which you are described by what adjectives? Reflect for a moment, what is your truest noun and then by what adjectives do you relate with others? Perhaps you have or had a nick-name, like "Shorty" or "Lefty." In my heavier days I was known as "Frater Rotundus" and also "Frater Commodious." These names are based on just how others saw me and so we can begin seeing ourselves that way as well if we are not careful. The more important issue is how we see and name ourselves.|How do we ever really know who we are? In fact, are we more adjective than noun! In polite introductory conversations we are asked about what we do. Ah, yes, that makes us into a convenient verb. In those cases then we add somethings to our verb-name and those are add-verbs. Adverbs are used to support weak verbs, "I am fine", is not as defining and accurate as "I thrive!" Enough English review.|God is both a noun Who needs no adjectives to be God and is a verb, because the noun by God's very essence is constantly and eternally acting. We can say that God Gods and that is enough. We then get our proper definition as noun-persons from allowing the Godding-God to create and sustain our nounhood, our real identity and when that happens we verb accordingly. We do who we are when we know who we are and remain faithful to that name. Is all this too much? God is too much for easy description and convenient names. We are way too much when we attain, achieve, fake or hide our true, root-noun. Then we have to dance with false adjectives and be supported by questionable adverbs. So, by what name are you most freed?|It is only a glimpse, enjoy your personal parsing.